THOSE of a certain vintage may well remember Pin Pin Optical - optician to generations of short-sighted schoolchildren peering at spectacle frames in their glass boxes, trying on pair after pair without fear of reprisal from patient sales staff. It's an experience that would probably have become yet another nostalgic memory, if Loh Tang Meng hadn't stepped in to buy the family-owned business.

Mr Loh is one of the directors of Kwang Meng, an optical lens manufacturer and distributor. "Pin Pin has been our client for so long, and it's been around for three generations, so we didn't want this brand name to just die off," he says.

Pin Pin was one of the original stores on North Bridge Road before it was relocated to Funan Centre, where it still operates on the second level. It almost closed down three years ago, when optometrist Patrick Seow, the grandson of the founder, wanted to stop operations.