[LIFE - 4] ST/LIFE/PAGE 12/01/15

Shoe label Pazzion’s
founder Tom Ng has
loved footwear since his
days as a student
Natasha Ann
Zachariah
M
echanical
engineering
might have been Tom Ng’s
chosen career path, but creating a shoe empire turned
out to be his true passion.
He always had a soft spot for shoes. In
the early 1990s, as a student at Oregon
State University in the United States, he
saved up his pocket money to amass a
“sizeable collection” of the wildly popular Nike high-tops, among other sneakers.
His love for shoes would come full circle almost a decade later when he ventured out of the corporate world to become the owner of his own shoe brand.
Today, the 44-year-old is the founder
and director of Pazzion (pronounced
pah-zzon), the trendy, home-grown shoe
label. There are eight Pazzion stores in
various malls, all of which opened in the
last 10 years. Its Wisma Atria store is the
brand’s flagship.
It is also franchised around the world
in countries such as Japan, Mauritius,
South Korea and Russia. Thailand alone
has more than 18 Pazzion stores.
Recalling the early days when he
picked up his shoe habit, he says he loved
being in touch with shoe trends, even
then.
He says: “Like most students, I didn’t
have much spare cash but given a choice,
I always splurged on shoes over other
things such as video games or gadgets.”
His foray into the entrepreneurial
world was perhaps influenced by his
father, who ran an export company selling luggage wholesale for 30 years.
The family of six lived in a kampung-style house with a zinc roof in Mandai until he was 12. They then moved to a
terrace house in the east. He is the youngest of four children.
He has two older sisters, aged 52 and
49, and an older brother, 46, a pilot instructor based in Australia. Their mother,
Madam Tan Mui Kiang, is a housewife.
Mr Ng, who excelled at drawing and
painting as a child, remembers his childhood days as being carefree and simple.
“Our neighbours were farmers who
reared chickens and pigs, or they grew
rambutans and durians. On weekends,
my mother took us to explore the Botanic
Gardens or Seletar Reservoir.”
Turning 16 marked the start of his independence as his father sent him abroad to
study mechanical engineering, and join
his second sister, who was studying for a
finance degree, in Oregon. She graduated
three months after Mr Ng arrived and returned home.
Mr Ng, who studied at Broadrick Secondary School, says: “I was pretty much
on my own. It was a fun time because I
could do whatever I wanted.” He remembers he and his friends driving to the
beach or Las Vegas for weekend jaunts.
But he kept his grades up and was on the
Dean’s List for three years out of the four
that he was there.
After graduating at age 20, he came
home for national service.
Soon after finishing the 21/2-year
stint, he worked as a project sales executive for a local construction firm, which
specialised in soundproofing works for
venues such as movie theatres, auditoriums and music-recording studios.
He says: “I did have an interest in engineering, so it was a natural progression to
work in the field. I thought I would expose myself to the industry, but they offered me a position in sales and managing
projects, so I tried my hand at it.”
After two years, he quit and joined an
American oil and gas company, working
in sales in the fibreglass piping department. When he left three years later, he
had risen through the ranks to manage
the company’s sales portfolio for part of
the Asia-Pacific region.
While at the American company, he
did a part-time graduate diploma course
in business administration at the Singapore Institute of Management.
Mr Ng, who completed it in 15 months,
Fresh designs are a priority for Mr Tom Ng and he often flips through women’s fashion magazines to see what is hot in the market. ST PHOTO: LIM SIN THAI
SHOEBIZ WHIZ
says: “My first two jobs ended up being ness owner herself and knowing my pasnon-engineering related. I wanted to sion for shoes, my sister knew where I
learn more, to further my knowledge of was coming from.”
the business side of things.”
He had sought advice from his father,
He wanted to further his studies but Mr Ng Chue Seng, 75, who encouraged
his second sister asked him to join her him to do his own thing.
three-year-old shoe business. He
His father describes him as being kind
weighed his choices carefully and decided and mild-tempered and says: “I knew he
to embark on a new career path.
wanted to try his hand at his own busi“At 26, I had just been promoted to ness and see if he could succeed based on
area sales manager, and I had the opportu- his own merit. I used to run my own businity to oversee a portfolio of clients ness as well, so I know what it feels like
across the Asia-Pacific region,” he says. to want to achieve that. I gave him my
“I was happy with my job, but when my blessings and told him to go for it.”
sister called, I said
Mr Ng put in
yes. I thought it
$50,000 – his enwould be a good THE LIFE! INTERVIEW WITH tire life savings at
challenge.”
that time – to
He
plunged
start a men’s shoe
headfirst into the
label, which did
business, handling
not need much capeverything from opening new stores to ital or space at the start.
marketing the products to helping out on
With his knowledge of the shoe industhe sales floor.
try, he felt that there was a lack of
“There was little competition at that well-made, stylish men’s shoes in the
time, so expansion was relatively fast. market at the time.
But it wasn’t easy to run our own shoe
“Most were black or dark brown and
business. We had to source for factories, had a corporate look. There were limited
oversee entire collections and hunt for options for casual shoes.”
manpower. Every day was a new chalHe worked out of a 500 sq ft office in
lenge and I learnt the fundamentals of Genting Lane and, to supplement his
how to do business and handle custom- income, also dabbled in the export busiers. My earlier jobs prepared me for this ness. As a middleman, he manufactured
because, essentially, I was interacting shoes for companies from Japan and Auswith people and their needs, just that the tralia.
product was different.”
The men’s label, Barcode, opened its
Perhaps the huge responsibility em- first outlet on the ground floor of Far East
boldened him and, three years later, he Plaza. He did everything from directing
started his own business.
the concept to designing the look of the
He declines to name his sister or her shoes. Barcode had so much traction that
home-grown business, which has five the management of Bugis Junction apstores here and others overseas.
proached him to open a store there. Lat“From Day 1, I didn’t want the support er, he opened consignment counters at
of being affiliated to any company. I start- Tangs Orchard and one in a men’s appared Pazzion with just my own savings and el shop at The Heeren.
skills and I want the company to continue
He says: “It all happened in just a year.
standing on its own merits.”
We offered something that was refreshHe adds that he and his sister are ing and, at that time, with little choice for
close, even if they are rivals in business.
men’s shoes, it excited buyers to see our
“I think the market is big enough for designs.”
more than one shoe brand. We each have
He travelled often to Europe and Japan
our own direction,” he says. “So we don’t for work then and found the trends in
talk about business at home. Being a busi- women’s shoes here wanting.
My life so far
Tom Ng
“I felt that the Asian market was behind the fashion trends of that time. We
mainly had strappy sandals or slip-ons. I
wanted to bring something else to the
market.”
Opening a women’s shoe store meant
closing down Barcode’s operations.
“It was doing well, but there was so
much potential in the market when I started Pazzion, much more than in men’s
shoes. Given my limited resources and
knowing how tedious it was for me to
come up with new designs for a ladies’
line, I closed Barcode.”
He approached Marina Square’s management – the mall in the Marina Bay
area was undergoing a revamp in 2005 –
to set up the first Pazzion store.
Even with a leap of faith, he was sure
that the brand, with its sparkly ballerina
flats and classic high heels made with
quality leather, would do well.
“I was pretty confident that the Singaporean consumer would like what I presented. It was different from other shoe
stores.”
Taking a chance paid off handsomely
for him. About three months into the venture, he was approached to open a store
in Wisma Atria. Shortly after, Bugis
Junction’s management asked him to set
up shop there too.
Since then, the brand has grown steadily, opening its eighth store in VivoCity
last year. It also has at least a 20 per cent
increase in revenue year on year annually.
Its product line has also expanded significantly, with a variety of leather accessories such as bags, wallets and wristlets,
in addition to shoes.
In 2011, he added a Mother & Baby collection, so women could dress their
daughters, aged 18 months to seven years
old, in smaller versions of adult shoes.
The concept was so popular that it is now
a permanent line, with new designs released every Spring-Summer and FallWinter season, in conjunction with the
adult collection.
Putting out fresh designs is a top priority for him and he often looks through
women’s fashion magazines to see what
is hot in the market, says his older sister,
Ms Ng Mui Heong, operations manager at
Pazzion
In 2005, he asked his sister, then a
housewife, to join him.
Ms Ng, who has a hospitality degree
from Switzerland, says: “In most areas,
Tom is a typically manly guy. It’s funny
to see him flipping through women’s fashion magazines and checking out shoes.
“He is always talking about shoes. Like
most women, I love shoes and I own
more pairs than I probably should. But
Tom’s obsession with shoes makes my
shoeaholic tendencies look like nothing.”
Mr Ng has about 20 pairs of shoes, including a pair of classic brown loafers
from Tod’s.
While he jetsets around the world managing the brand’s franchises, liaising with
factories and attending trade shows, he
visits the stores whenever he is in town.
The store manager at Wisma Atria, Ms
Elaine Ng, 37, who was his first hire when
he opened Barcode, says that he pitches
in to help at the cashier’s or attend to customers when the stores get busy.
She says: “He treats the staff like family. He has a list of everyone’s birthday
and, if he’s in town and free, he will buy a
cake to celebrate that person’s birthday.”
He also started the company’s corporate social responsibility activities, including designing a limited-edition Pink Ribbon Shoe for Breast Cancer Awareness in
October for the last two years. Last year,
he created the company’s philanthropic
arm, called Pazzion Cares, working with
the Singapore Children’s Society and the
Happy Angel Organisation, with staff
pitching in to pack and deliver care packages to the low-income elderly.
Mr Ng is a self-confessed workaholic
but the arrival of his daughter, Crystal,
two years ago mellowed him, and he finds
himself making more time for his child.
He is married to Ms Ruby Wong, 34, a
supply chain manager for the brand. The
couple met in 2004 when he started working with her manufacturing company in
Guangzhou, China. They started dating in
2008 and got married two years later.
The couple live with his parents in a terrace house in Serangoon Gardens.
Even as he has excelled at running his
ever-expanding business, raising a child
as a first-time parent often throws him
curveballs.
He says: “For now, the next and possibly biggest chapter in my life is being a father. I want to show Crystal the world
and to inspire her to pursue her dreams
the same way I have pursued mine.”
[email protected]
Mr Ng,
aged 25,
with his
father,
Mr Ng
Chue
Seng, at
his
brother’s
home in
Perth.
“Quality, quality, quality. From the
external finish to the lining to the heel,
and each crystal, diamante or
embellishment, using quality materials
means greater comfort and durability.
You want a shoe that feels good to wear
and the peace of mind to know that it
will hold up through long, busy days.”
Mr Ng on what makes a quality shoe
Mr Tom Ng, aged two, on his mother’s lap, with
his brother and two sisters at Seletar
Reservoir. PHOTOS: COURTESY OF TOM NG
“It’s good to work with a family
member. At times, we see eye to eye on
issues, but we have different opinions
“I still like what I do – with the same
too. We voice how to do things better
passion as when I started. I definitely
rather than argue. I’m never the boss,
want to be involved in the business.”
even with my eldest sister and wife. I
On why he does not want to sell Pazzion
consider them partners. It’s all right to
have different opinions as long as we
trust who we work with.”
“With Pazzion, I’ve managed to put
On why he roped in his eldest sister and wife to work
together everything I enjoy – shoes and
with him at Pazzion
running a business. The ability to put my
design ideas to paper and see them
being produced still gives me a kick. Call
me a sucker for cheap thrills, but seeing
someone on the street in a pair of
Pazzion shoes, looking confident and
comfortable, makes me really happy.”
On being passionate about his business