HEALTH IS WEALTH
Group CEO of A Wellness Holdings ARICH TAN shares how he turned one small chiropractic clinic into a small empire of beauty and wellness brands and companies.
Arich Tan is a straightforward man. He’s dressed in jeans “because it’s casual Friday” but chose to top it with a red Louis Vuitton jumper “because it’s my lucky colour and I’m closing a deal later”, and he wears a black and white Hublot Big Bang “because it’s a good everyday watch”.
Personal fancies rarely colour his decisions, as evidenced by his highly pragmatic entrepreneurial trajectory: “I didn’t want to lose my employability as I grew older,” the 51- year- old explains. “That meant I had to start my own business, and I chose pain management because we are an ageing population and it will never be a sunset industry.” Clearly, every choice he makes serves a purpose.
Having previously worked in sales and marketing, and in business consulting, Arich wasn’t altogether surprised when friends and investors constantly highlighted his lack of relevant experience when he told them he wanted to open a chiropractic clinic.
“A lot of people didn’t believe in me. They kept asking if I was a chiropractor or medical doctor myself, or if I specialised in this field of business. Of course, the answer is no; I’m just a businessman,” he recalls.
“But I filtered out all the doubt. My only thought was ‘ just do it!’ So I just did it.”
So Arich joined forces with co- founder Paurline Wee to open Natrahea, a clinic offering chiropractic, functional wellness and traditional Chinese medicine ( TCM) services, at Parkway Parade in 2012. As further testament to his Nike slogan approach to life, he didn’t even have an existing customer base to draw from. “On our first day of opening, we were sweating,” he laughs. “I was looking at my team, they were looking at me, and we were like, ‘ What do we do next?’”
For starters, they distributed flyers to their neighbouring tenants and made cold calls. Their first customers were the parents of children who attended the enrichment centre above and had time and pain to kill.
Business picked up quickly from there, and within a month they broke even. At the end of three months, they opened their second unit at The Arcade. Before the year was out, they opened a third in Jurong East. Today, Natrahea has seven clinics across the island. “In business you face many challenges every day, so you either face them and find solutions, or you give up,” says Arich.
UNSTOPPABLE PROGRESSION
Arich acquired established spa brand Haach in 2014 from its owners, who wanted to retire. The following year, he launched Dr Haach to serve as Haach’s aesthetic division, offering more extensive beauty treatments like Botox fillers and laser treatments. Together with Natrahea, the three brands formed the first of many to be part of A Wellness Holdings ( AWHL) investment holding company.
Presently, AWHL also owns Guo Tai TCM and manages six brands, such as Physiomed, Covette Clinic, FIL and ladies- only spa Passage New York. “The past 11 years have proven that this M& A approach works for us, and leads to faster growth for our group compared to organic growth,” he says. “I’m actually grateful to the people who thought I couldn’t do it, because
Art Direction AUDREY CHAN Photography ALECIA NEO Fashion Styling JACQUIE ANG Grooming KEITH BRYANT LEE, using KEVIN. MURPHY & CLARINS Fashion Assistance SIT SHI JIE Location 33CLUB
it made me want to prove that I could.”
AWHL has won numerous awards since, including the Top 3 Emerging SME Award in 2015, the Singapore Brand Prestige Award in 2016, and three Enterprise 50 awards from 2020 to 2022. During his second Enterprise 50 win in 2021, the panel asked Arich if he planned to venture into technology. “Was I supposed to create a robot to wash your face or massage you? We can’t do that, but it did make me think about what we needed for the next five to 10 years. We couldn’t be complacent.”
He looked for technology that would make sense for his business two years ago. He eventually met a professor who specialised in AI for medical equipment. “It would have taken him years to get medical devices approved so I asked if he had anything for my market instead. He suggested using AI to analyse skin and scalp, and I said, ‘ Let’s go.’”
That technology became the basis of his latest brand, Drscalp, which opened its first outlet in Raffles City Shopping Centre last July, and is Singapore’s first AI- powered scalp clinic. Its AI- based algorithm is reportedly able to diagnose scalp issues with a 99 per cent accuracy rate and suggest personalised treatment plans for six conditions, such as hair loss and oily scalps. Arich is already planning to open 15 clinics in Singapore, and expand into the region.
THRIVING THROUGH RELATIONSHIPS
Even with the adoption of new technology, one could argue that Arich’s 11- year winning streak can be attributed to his sticking to familiar territory. But his latest venture would prove that he still has the gumption to try something completely novel. Intrigued by the recent resurgence of private member clubs around the world, Arich started his own, 33Club.
“I started to think about what I would have wanted and needed from a private business networking club when I was starting out, and I realised it was a powerful network with a wide range of portfolios,” he says.
With diversity in mind, Arich came up with six “pillars” into which members could be filtered: “Gen Next” for those who made their fortunes through cryptocurrencies and deep tech, “Traditional Businesses” for
established industry leaders and business owners, “33Her” for high- flying women at work, “Foreign Wealth” for foreign investors, “Financial Wealth” for seasoned professionals in the world of finance, and “Collectibles Enthusiasts” for those with a knack for amassing rare luxury goods.
Given the kind of members it wishes to attract, 33Club chose its location well – inside the Capital Building at Raffles Place. Throughout the two- storey, 4,200sqft space, sleek Art Deco- inspired furniture and fixtures echo the club’s sunrise theme ( because “33” sounds like “rising sun” in Mandarin), curated using warm copper tones and a sunray ceiling installation.
Arich hopes to fill each pillar with about 100 members, with each applicant to be interviewed by him, his long- time collaborator Paurline, and his general manager, to ensure the right fit. “33Club is all about leveraging on one another’s expertise so that we can shorten our journeys to success.”
The club has been actively organising weekly events, such as forums, breakfast groups, master classes, lunch learning sessions and speaker series so that experts in their respective fields may share their knowledge and insights.
Moreover, the club has served as the venue for external events like the French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore’s Luxury Investment & Networking Session and the Investors Night co- organised by Signum Capital, UOB, Tako, and Republik, and welcomed speakers like Banyan Tree’s executive chairman Ho Kwon Ping and Roger Dubuis’ managing director Edouard Guibert.
All the other perks are standard private club fare like concierge services and “access to rare whiskies, timepieces, bags, concierge medicine, chef- driven food and beverage”, and so on. A companion app also lists investment deals for members to browse through, and Arich is planning to incorporate AI that will help match businesses with potential investors.
The ideal club member would be “a person like me”, he declares candidly. “I’m looking for like- minded people with similar ideas for what this club should be. It’s not about having a lot of money, but about having integrity and honour.”
The club has only been open for less than a year and memberships slots are still available but Arich, with characteristic optimism and momentum, is eager for the 33Club to open in 10 cities around the world.
GRATITUDE IN ACTION
Arich may be sitting at the top of one of the biggest beauty and wellness businesses in Singapore, but his life is not solely driven by expanding his empire. He has also chaired a local non- profit Buddhist association for the last 15 years. “When the former chairperson asked me to take over, I told him I had no idea what to do. But all he said was, ‘Just follow your heart’. So I decided that the association would never ( actively) ask for donations, because it should just be about letting people benefit from the teachings of the Tibetan monks we support.”
During the pandemic he also had Natrahea donate 500 mattresses worth $ 200,000 to the Thye Hwa Kwan Moral Charities so that the elderly wouldn’t have to sleep on stained, bed bug- ridden mattresses during lockdowns. “The logistics were a challenge because of safe distancing but that was my happiest memory of the pandemic.”
Arich reveals that his charitable inclinations came from his own humble beginnings. His parents were hawkers and not well- to- do, so the entire family, which included three other siblings, had to live in a one- room apartment for many years. “I believe if you are fortunate enough, it is always good to lend a hand to the needy,” he says. “It’s not about how much money you can make. It’s about figuring out what kind of life you want to live, and I want my life to be about helping people. Whether it’s through business or charity, I will do my part for as long as I can.”
“I chose pain management because we are an ageing population and it will never be a sunset industry.”
Wee Wei Ling’s eyes widen when she recounts a conversation with a family who had recently enjoyed a staycation at one of Pan Pacific Hotels Group’s properties in Singapore.
One of the children in that particular family had been rewarded with a staycation for improvements in school attendance, learning attitude as well as academic grades. The family was a participant of the UOLPPHG Community Uplift Programme, which collaborates with Ministry of Social Family Development to partner low- income families living in rental housing to achieve stability, self- reliance and social mobility.
“We thought they would enjoy the food or playing in the swimming pool but, no, the kids told me they loved the bed the most,” says Wei Ling, executive director of Sustainable Partnerships, Lifestyle and Asset at Pan Pacific Hotels Group.
Leaning in for emphasis, she adds: “Sleeping on a bed is something many of us take for granted but for children who grew up sleeping on a mattress or the floor, a simple thing like a bed is a luxury.”
The 71- year- old Wei Ling is the eldest daughter of banker Wee Cho Yaw, chairman emeritus and honorary adviser of United Overseas Bank. She is well aware that she leads a privileged life. This same privilege is what pushes the recipient of the Prestige Singapore Patron Award to give back and inspire others to join her in doing so.
Wei Ling began her career by taking on various “rank and file” positions in the hotel, steadily working her way up to her current role, which includes overseeing the group’s sustainability, inclusivity and charity initiatives.
She first became involved in corporate social responsibility in 2012 when People’s Association appointed her the chairperson of Project We Care to encourage corporate giving and volunteerism. It has since spearheaded various programmes, including Stay Well, which provides basic home refurbishments to families moving from rental housing to their own purchased flats.
Having visited many rental homes, she observes that a dignified environment is essential in enhancing the inhabitants’ overall well- being. In a soft- spoken voice that belies her deep convictions, she explains: “People who struggle to afford basic necessities may not be able to fit out their homes without this support. Providing them with an ‘ initial push’ to create a comfortable home empowers them to focus on other aspects of their lives.”
This ethos of giving back and working to build a more inclusive society is also firmly incorporated in various ways at the Pan
Pacific Hotels Group. Besides the UOLPPHG Community Uplift Programme for less privileged families, employees mentor students at the workplace. The company also champions inclusive employment practices.
For example, at Si Chuan Dou Hua restaurant at UOB Plaza, there are two special needs employees performing front- of- house duties and interacting with guests. “It is rewarding to see them gain independence and their caregivers recognising that there are others who care for their children too. I think as parents, we can identify with that feeling,” she says.
Wei Ling is also a stalwart supporter of the arts, with a focus on supporting local, up- and- coming as well as special needs artists to make the biggest possible impact.
When she travelled in her youth, she would collect trinkets and objets d’art as souvenirs. Now, one of her responsibilities is to acquire meaningful art for PPHG’S collection, many of which are on display in the Group’s various properties.
“I began to realise art is not just a decorative item. An artwork captures an artist’s heart and soul and is nurtured just like a baby,” she says. “We want to provide a platform for artists to showcase their talents and foster a more inclusive society.”
The Group’s collection includes works by local artists Iskandar Jalil and Didier Ng and various pottery studios including Sam Mui Kuang Pottery. It also owns commissioned works by ART: DIS, which supports artists with disabilities.
She fondly recalls getting to know the artists and their families when the Group sought to restore some of its earlier acquisitions, like Chua Ek Kay’s 1992 artwork, A Collection of Tang Poetry by Li Bai, Enjoying Wine and Conversation with Scholar Friends; and Delia Prvacki’s 1997 installation Suspended Garden. The former hangs in a private lounge at the Group’s newest hotel in Singapore, Pan Pacific Orchard, while the latter is currently installed in the lobby of Pan Pacific Serviced Suites Orchard.
Wei Ling believes that art offers a viable avenue to uplift the special needs community. In 2017, she co- founded Extraordinary People with her cousin, businessman Wee Boo Kuan, to support special needs individuals through various initiatives including art, music and performance lessons. These skills are meant to offer the beneficiaries a way to earn a living and live independently.
To deepen her understanding of the challenges faced by arts practitioners, Wei Ling has undergone formal training in various art forms. She holds a Grade 8 ABRSM certificate in singing and studies
“People who struggle to afford even basic necessities may not even be able to fit out their homes without this initial support. So by providing them with ‘ initial push’ in creating a comfortable home, it empowers them to focus on other aspects of their lives.”
music theory and the piano. She has also taken ballroom dancing lessons for over two decades.
She elaborates: “My arts education allows me to have a deeper appreciation when I go to the theatre or watch a show. It has also taught me that it is not easy to be an artist. It is a long journey and I am more aware of the frustrations of artists and performers.”
This commitment to making a difference extends to parlaying her performing skills to raise funds and awareness. Every January, to celebrate her birthday, Wei Ling organises a fundraising event where she encourages friends and family to contribute to charity instead of presenting her with gifts. It is an opportunity for collective giving and a means to inspire her inner circle to go the extra mile in giving back.
She is also personally involved in the annual Extraordinary Celebration, one of Singapore’s largest inclusive concert organised by Extraordinary People, which celebrates inclusivity by bringing together performers from mainstream and special education schools.
As she puts it: “Seeing is believing. When my family and friends see the impact of doing good, they are even more encouraged to give back and become ambassadors of the cause themselves.”