Metro Holdings MD dies

Metro Holdings MD Jopie Ong Hie Koan has died.

Jopie Ong Hie KoanOng, pictured, was aged in his 70s and had headed the business since 1973. His father, the late Ong Tjoe Kim, founded Metro in 1957 as a department store chain which expanded into property and investment in Singapore, Indonesia and Mainland China. The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary and retail arm, Metro Private, operates the Accessorize and Monsoon retail stores in Singapore.

Ong has worked for Metro since 1964 and led its retail business, including introducing the luxury brands Piaget and Cartier.

He played a large role in the establishment of Transmarco, which specialised in luxury brands, computer technology and watches and was a director of Metrojaya, which operated a retail business in Malaysia before it was divested.

Under Ong’s leadership, Metro built a chain of five department stores in Singapore, the flagship being Metro Paragon located on Orchard Rd.

It also operates five stores in Indonesia, along with a portfolio of retail brands including Accessorize, Birkenstock, Monsoon and Nici.

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