METRO SINGAPORE
Metro Private Limited, Singapore
http://www.metro.com.sg
Baca halaman ini dalam bahasa indonesia
THE METRO GROUP
The METRO Group’s two business arms are in property and retail spread out over some of the key cities of Singapore, Malaysia, China and Indonesia
The group owns and operates several prime retail and office properties in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China and Penang in Malaysia. It also has significant investments in property businesses in China.
The retail business comprises three METRO Department Stores in Singapore and another five department stores in Jakarta and Bandung, Indonesia. The METRO shopping brand is a familiar household name in the region and offers a wide range of quality merchandise over 900,000 square feet of downtown and suburban retail space.
HISTORY OF METRO
Listed on the Singapore stock exchange since 1973, Metro Holdings was founded by its chairman Ong Tjoe Kim in 1957, who hailed from Indonesia, at the age of 49. The business started out as a textile store at a two-storey shop house on 72 High Street, where the Treasury Building now sits. A movie buff, Mr Ong named the store after Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM).
In 1965, Metro be came one of the first retailers to open a department store in Orchard Road at Liat Towers, away from High Street, which was the shopping district in Singapore at the time. Initially named Metrotex, it became Metro Orchard when the store moved to the Holiday Inn Shopping Complex at Scotts Road in 1973. By then, the department store retailer had become known for its ubiquitous red M sign, uniformed sales staff and affordable fashion. At one stage, Metro operated five outlets along Orchard Road, including Far East Plaza and Lucky Plaza, and up to nine stores all over Singapore.
The Metro Grand store at Lucky Plaza which opened in 1978, was Singapore’s first high-end department store that adopted a branded boutiques concept within a store to cater to the well-heeled and sophisticated. Lucky Plaza was then the new shopping mecca along Orchard Road and the first modern mall to feature glass-walled bubble lifts. The seventies also saw Metro bringing in luxury European fashion apparel and accessories such as Cartier, Charles Jourdan and Givenchy to more affluent and brand conscious shoppers. In 1974, the group took a stake in the development of a vacant site at Orchard Road, which was to become the premier shopping centre, Ngee Ann City. In 1979, it also co-founded the luxury watch retail chain, The Hour Glass. The group also brought in the US retailer Toys “R” Us to Singapore in 1986.
The mid- to late-1990s saw Metro branching into the leisure and travel businesses --- beginning with the building of a $85 million hotel property in Cairns, Australia before venturing into the regional cruise market with the launch of Sun Cruises in 1997. By the mid-90s, Metro had already begun to invest in commercial and retail properties in China and Indonesia. A joint venture with US discount store K-mart was forged in 1994.
New suburban stores based on a more family-oriented theme selling household items, children's wear and toys, and mid-price fashion lines were also opened at Tampines Century Square in 1996; Metro Woodlands at Causeway Point in 1998; and Metro Sengkang in 2002.
In Indonesia, Metro opened the first store at Mal Pondok Indah in 1991 and currently has 3 Metro stores in Jakarta and one in Bandung. In April 2008, Metro opened a new concept fashion store, M Pacific Place at the new Pacific Place mall located in the central business district of Jakarta.
The group's property portfolio comprises prime retail and office space in Singapore, Malaysia, Shanghai and Guangzhou in China. Other principal activities include those of hotel management in Australia and the manufacturer of watch components.
Metro posted net profits of $31 million on a turnover of $204 million in financial 2005. Its 27% stake in Ngee Ann City was eventually parlayed into a real estate investment trust (REIT) and sold to Prime REIT, which was subsequently floated on the Singapore stock exchange in September 2005.
RETAIL
The retail business comprises three METRO Department Stores in Singapore and another five department stores in Jakarta and Bandung,Indonesia. The METRO shopping brand is a familiar household name in the region and offers a wide selection of fashion apparel, accessories, cosmetics, and home items including designers and famous brands over 900,000 square feet of downtown and suburban retail space.
