Swee Choon, Old Chang Kee among 42 businesses honoured in new SG Heritage Business Scheme
Recognised businesses get a heritage mark, consultancy support and access to festivals such as Singapore Night Festival
[SINGAPORE] Dim sum restaurant Swee Choon, bespoke tailor CYC Company and snack chain Old Chang Kee are among 42 businesses recognised under the inaugural SG Heritage Business Scheme celebrating longstanding enterprises.
The pilot scheme, launched in March by the National Heritage Board (NHB), is one of several initiatives under an inter-agency task force set up to support the growth and sustainability of heritage-based businesses, traditional activities and cultural life.
For this pilot, the scheme was open to locally owned businesses in Singapore’s central area that have operated for at least 30 years and have actively shaped their neighbourhoods, enriched the city’s vibrancy and safeguarded Singapore’s heritage, NHB said on Thursday (Oct 9).
Besides longevity, businesses were assessed on their heritage significance, community contributions, innovation and sustainability efforts.
All 42 businesses are home-grown, and more than half are single-outlet, family-owned operations, said Melissa Tan, NHB’s director of heritage policy and research.
Under the scheme, businesses receive a distinctive SG Heritage Business mark for their storefronts, inclusion in a directory on NHB’s heritage portal, features in “placemaking efforts”, and business consultancy services.
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They will also participate in heritage-focused programming such as the Singapore Night Festival and Singapore HeritageFest, helping them reach both local and international visitors, said Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo at the award ceremony.
Neo said the recognised businesses share three key qualities: they preserve heritage by maintaining traditions and passing knowledge to younger generations; contribute to their communities through essential services and local events; and demonstrate innovation and sustainability.
NHB hopes the scheme will recognise these businesses’ contributions and help them stay relevant amid a changing landscape.
Neo said: “While the pilot is scoped to businesses in the central area, we are committed to exploring how we can recognise and support more businesses over time.”
Shining a spotlight
Businesses awarded the mark said the recognition goes beyond acknowledging their achievements and growth – it raises awareness of heritage enterprises and how they differ from typical retailers.
“We really wanted to be a part of this because we felt that we matched all the criteria, being a family business of over 65 years,” said Ryan Toh, business development manager of Cathay Photo.
Charmaine Toh, Cathay Photo’s director, hopes the publicity will help reach new customers. “I think people in the photography community would know who we are, but people outside of it will learn, and I think that’s a good opportunity for us to get to know more people, and for people to know us.”
Fund Lee, executive director of traditional tea house Tea Chapter, said he hopes the recognition will bring more exposure that attract new customers.
Both businesses said that consultancy services offered under the scheme will be most valuable. Lee said having NHB involved will be useful as the statutory board understands the unique business models of heritage enterprises, unlike typical consultancies.
For instance, he raised how previous consultants had suggested transforming the business into a restaurant – showing that they did not understand the unique nature of tea houses.
For Cathay Photo, the consultancy services will be helpful for succession planning and adapting to evolving consumer and technology trends. This is critical for a business that started in the film era and has survived into the digital age.
“The consultancy can help us to see some areas that we don’t see,” Toh said.
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