ROYAL SELANGOR

MALAYSIA

A household name in Malaysia, Royal Selangor began its story in 1885 when founder Yong Koon established a company centred on pewter accessories and objets d’art. Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, the company has expanded globally with stores from Beijing to Bucharest, but behind the curtain it remains very much a family affair.

Today, the company is run by fourth-generation descendants of the founder, led by cousins Yong Yoon Li and Chen Tien Yue. Yong, as managing director, oversees all Royal Selangor activities, while Chen, as executive director, is responsible for sales and finance.

Both began their careers elsewhere. Yoon spent a decade working in prestige motorsports, while Chen worked at Mckinsey. “Only in the mid-2000s were we both invited to return and join the family business after gaining skills and experience from other companies,” says Yoon.

Steering a heritage brand has its fair share of challenges and Yoon and Chen have worked to ensure its relevance through partnerships with the National Palace Museum of Taiwan, The British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum; they’ve also embarked on artistic collaborations with Chinese sculptor Xu Xiaoyong and Singaporean designer Jarrod Lim, whose Crystalline collection won the Tableware International Awards of Excellence in 2018.

While Yoon acknowledges the unpredictability of the global climate today, he is confident about the collectible nature of Royal Selangor’s products. “Our licensing work has the potential to grow, so we will continue collaborating with Marvel, Warner Brothers, Star Wars and Medicom Toy to create more products and limited editions. We will be rebuilding our retail network in a new format after the pandemic and opening our new store in Battersea Power Station, London.”