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For many business owners, drastically falling sales might be a sign that they need to implement cost-cutting measures or even call it a day. For bespoke leather craftsman and founder of Stone for Gold, Xie Hui (also known as Stone), a steep decline in business during the pandemic led him to grow his team instead.
One of the pioneers in the local leather crafting scene, the 35-year-old self-taught craftsman started Stone for Gold in 2008. In 2012, a big corporate order enabled him to finally “move the business out of my bedroom”.
Before the pandemic, says Xie, he used to work on almost all the commissioned jobs himself. Then, he had a team of four, mostly focusing on sales. Besides offering all kinds of bespoke leather products, from car interior upholstery to watch straps, Xie also repaired leather products. “I was all over the place, and I would do anything and everything,” he says.
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As a result of Covid-related restrictions during the pandemic’s first two years, Stone for Gold saw several of its income streams, including leather-crafting workshops and corporate events, dry up. Determined to keep the company going, Xie decided it was time to properly develop his business rather than just focusing on his craft per se.
For two years, he did not pay himself a salary. Instead, he ploughed the company’s earnings back into growing his team. Currently, the Stone for Gold team comprises nine people here and 15 in a private workshop in Vietnam. The company has also streamlined its offerings to focus on bespoke leather car key holders and watch straps. It’s a strategy that has paid off. Says Xie: “Business has grown more than 30 per cent since Covid started.”
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After years of operating solely from its office and workshop at Jalan Besar, the brand opened its first retail shop at Mandarin Gallery last month. Besides offering customers a look at its bespoke wares, the store also offers a new protective-film service for watches and jewellery using 3D scanning technology.
The store, says Xie, is a testing ground for the overseas expansion of Stone for Gold, which already has distributors in cities such as Bangkok, Taipei, and Osaka.
Says Xie: “Looking at the opportunities that have come our way over the years, I feel that there is a lot more potential to scale up the business. I won’t say I’m doing it 100 per cent right, but I’m learning every day.”
