【Singapore】77-Year-Old Heritage Jeweller Poh Heng Reinvents Itself

[SINGAPORE] As a household name synonymous with traditional gold jewellery, the 77-year-old Poh Heng is shedding its old-fashioned image to win over younger shoppers, while staying true to its roots.

Under the leadership of Group CEO Eugene Goh, who joined the family business to drive its transformation, the heritage jeweller founded in 1948 has undergone a comprehensive overhaul of its stores, product designs, and customer service over the past four years.

he told The Business Times.

Through this brand refresh, Poh Heng is attracting millennials and Gen Z consumers—a demographic that has long viewed Poh Heng as their parents’ jeweller, not their own.

Goh believes “there is huge potential for continued growth through the younger generation,” particularly with bridal jewellery as an entry point for their first purchase.

Poh Heng’s continuous innovation earned it the top spot in this year’s Enterprise 50 Awards, which honours outstanding small and medium-sized enterprises.

In early November, the company launched its latest effort to attract the younger market: the VOW collection.

This end-to-end jewellery collection covers engagement rings, wedding bands, and “si dian jin”—a traditional Chinese bridal gift from the groom’s family consisting of four gold items: a necklace, earrings, a bracelet, and a ring.

What sets the VOW collection apart is its customisation service. Customers can choose from 16 in-house designed rings and select from white, yellow, rose, or champagne gold, creating nearly 200 possible combinations.

Goh noted.

The company is also reimagining the “si dian jin.” The new pieces feature minimalist designs with sleeker contours and subtler gold finishes, moving away from the ornate styles traditionally designed for specific occasions. These pieces can be worn daily to work or social events, catering to younger consumers’ preference for practicality and versatility.

The transformation extends to Poh Heng’s physical stores. The company has completely revamped all 18 of its outlets in Singapore, replacing the signature red interiors with warmer, softer tones to create a more welcoming feel.

The company is also placing greater emphasis on service excellence. Retail staff, trained to adopt a more consultative approach, now focus on understanding customer needs rather than just sales.

Goh said.

To support this service shift, the company has brought customer service in-house after finding that outsourced providers did not meet brand standards. Its policy: all customer feedback must be responded to within the same day and properly resolved or escalated within three days.

Goh pointed out that the company’s external transformation required significant internal changes.

For a heritage brand with many long-serving employees, introducing new ways of working meant gaining buy-in from staff accustomed to traditional processes.

But he said uplifting human capital is “a huge opportunity.” The company has invested in digital literacy training and upskilling programs for its veteran staff, many of whom are Malaysian and primarily Mandarin-speaking, to better serve Singapore’s diverse clientele.

Simultaneously, Goh introduced the company’s first-ever quarterly employee engagement surveys and town halls, providing staff with opportunities to suggest improvements.

Regarding further retail network expansion, Poh Heng is “not in a race for store numbers.” Goh stated that in retail, business expansion can reach a tipping point where new outlets become unprofitable.

Thus, Poh Heng takes a data-driven approach to retail investment, analysing demographics, population structure, income levels, and proximity to transport hubs like MRT stations before opening new stores.

The company has identified room for growth in central and north-eastern Singapore, where it is currently under-represented. Goh said, “We haven’t reached the optimum (number),” adding that the brand might open a few more stores in these areas.

At 77 years old, Poh Heng is also looking overseas. The Group CEO said the company is “very interested in the ASEAN market.”

The company has done some due diligence and plans its first foray into the region “in the coming years.” “Internationalisation is inevitable; it’s just a matter of time and resources.”

Goh sees e-commerce as the first step.

he said, while retail is typically “confined to a specific region.”

“We have a great opportunity to go beyond Singapore and capture opportunities in the ASEAN region and even globally.”

He added that while transaction volume is still not high, sales are growing steadily since Poh Heng began pushing e-commerce two years ago.

He believes that through digital marketing and online sales, the jeweller will build brand awareness and familiarity among regional customers before opening physical stores in new markets.

Despite embracing change, Poh Heng is careful to preserve the core values of its business that have attracted and retained customers for decades.

For example, it still sells 22K gold (91.7% purity) at the same market price as competitors’ 916 gold (91.6% purity). Goh said this practice effectively offers customers higher value. Furthermore, all Poh Heng jewellery undergoes third-party testing at a lab accredited by the Singapore Accreditation Council before reaching the stores.

This philosophy of retaining core values while pushing modernisation extends to how management works with the founding family. Goh, leading a team mostly composed of non-family members, said finding the “appropriate balance” is key.

he said.

He recalled that when he joined Poh Heng, family members emphasised that trust was at the brand’s core. Over time, he came to understand how the company tangibly builds trust through its business practices, such as selling high-purity gold and conducting rigorous quality checks.

These efforts aim to solidify Poh Heng’s position domestically. The company may not be the number one jeweller, but Goh wants it to be “the most impactful brand”—one defined by its influence rather than pure scale.