It was the year 1977. Chung Chi Kwong, a practicing journeyman tailor, had just decided to start his own business. After “cracking [his] head”, he went for the name Meiko Tailor – not due to any inspiration from Japanese geishas, but for his wife Saw Yock Lan, whose Mandarin name bears the character “mei”.
Then comes “ko”, the second half, which refers to the values of “can do, able, reliable”.
And indeed it has – Meiko Tailor is still sailing strong today, despite the headwinds of fast fashion and e-commerce.
In fact, the brand has just expanded its presence beyond its long-running flagship in Pan Pacific Singapore with a new boutique in Boat Quay.
This isn’t the partnership’s only major milestone this year. Chi Kwong and Yock Lan, 73, also celebrated their 50th anniversary on 21 May this year – no mean feat, considering the endless days and sleepless nights huddled over their cloths and threads.
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An apprentice tailor from young
Chi Kwong was a tailor’s apprentice since the age of 17. Almost all of his waking hours were spent perfecting his craft. Back then, he says, the specialised skills of a tailor were very much in demand.
It was only after completing his national service as part of the pioneer batch of recruits — and getting married to Yock Lan — that he began thinking about going solo.
He set up Meiko Tailor’s first storefront in Geylang Lorong 3, within the confines of “an old zinc-roofed shophouse”.
According to the tailor, it was a decent location to make a living – good enough to push him to venture into a second outlet in Textile Centre, though that would quickly shutter.
"I didn't get the right person."
After several years, the area was taken back by the government for redevelopment, and he was offered a new spot in the heartlands of Hougang Street 21. While rent there was “four times higher” compared to Geylang, business at the residential storefront exceeded all of Chi Kwong’s expectations.
The silver ended up working for “12 to 14 hours a day”, every day, just to meet the orders he was taking in. Work-life balance wasn’t in the cards, especially since he and his family slept in the room above the shop.
"It was my mindset at the time – I was 100% focused on building up the family's finances. I was born in difficult times, so I always believed in basics first. If we didn’t have that, we couldn’t survive."
Both agree that the little family time they do have — like family meals and yearly overseas holidays — is precious indeed.
Meiko Tailor's move to Pan Pacific Singapore
During their time at Hougang, Chi Kwong unwittingly made a suit for the Pan Pacific Singapore’s then-purchasing director. The hotel executive ended up liking it so much that he made an offer to set them up with a location in the hotel.
"Right after we signed the rental contract, he put in a big order for the hotel staff, and that helped us to grow from there."
Yock Lan took over things at Hougang while Chi Kwong managed the new Meiko Tailor flagship on the second level of Pan Pacific Singapore.
"Business was very good."
The ’80s turned out to be the heyday of local tailoring. By the following decade, automation and globalisation had given rise to fast fashion, leading to a drop in demand for bespoke tailoring services like Meiko’s.
Though Chi Kwong had seen the shift to the hotel as the impetus to expand once again, he’d shrunk his business back down to just a single Meiko Tailor by the time e-commerce reared its head.
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Daughter to take over the reins of Meiko Tailor
The couple’s 49-year-old daughter Adele Chung plays a key role in that last part. She’s been working with the business since just before the pandemic, and has been instrumental in updating Meiko Tailor’s processes with digital marketing and automated customer service.
Overseas customers can even get their body measurements scanned virtually, so they can place orders without having to come down personally.
But as both Chi Kwong and Yock Lan can attest, it’s the memories of face-to-face customer interactions that last the longest.
The latter now counts many of her old regulars as her bosom buddies.
"We're very close – they're not customers, they're friends."
As for Yock Lan, his fondest memories include serving three generations of the same family, as well as a foreign customer whom he served for over 20 years.
Meiko Tailor
Location: Pan Pacific Singapore, 7 Raffles Boulevard, #02-01, Singapore 039595
Opening Hours: Mon – Fri, 11am – 7pm; Sat, 11:30am – 7pm; Sun, 2:30pm – 6:30pm
Tel: +65 6334 6911
Website: https://www.meikotailor.com/
