A different kind of wealth: the heart behind Stamford Tyres
Dawn Wee spent four decades helping her husband build Stamford Tyres into an enduring Singapore company. Now she is using that success to give back - one pre-loved treasure at a time
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PEOPLE seldom venture to the Jurong industrial area unless they work in the area or need car-related services.
But visitors to Stamford Tyres’ flagship store may be surprised to find that above the Falken tyres and sports rims, they can do good and come away with something beautiful from the charity thrift shop on the second floor.
The Discovery Shop is the passion project of Dawn Wee, executive chairman of the Singapore Exchange-listed company.
It is filled with beautiful pre-loved things like furniture, art and collectibles donated by some of Singapore’s most prominent families, many of whom quietly rallied behind their friend’s vision to give back.
The finds are not what you might expect from a charity shop.
Rolf Benz leather swivel armchairs in near-new condition for under S$1,000 sit alongside finely made vintage rosewood furniture starting from S$388. Every piece is curated and every dollar from sales goes directly to charity. Stamford Tyres absorbs all operating costs.
His blessing, her vision
The idea came to Wee while her husband and founder, Wee Kok Wah, was undergoing medical treatment in California. She would spend the hours between his procedures browsing a charity thrift shop nearby and found herself wondering if Singapore could have something like it.
She raised it with her husband. He gave his blessing and offered her the unused mezzanine floor of the Jurong flagship.
He did not live to see it open. The Discovery Shop launched in early 2025, after his passing in 2024. But the shop carries his fingerprints as much as hers.
Many of the early pieces that went on sale came from his personal collection of antiques he had bought on business trips across South-east Asia.
Among them, a Burmese alabaster statue that had stood in the Wee family living room for decades, and a traditionally carved wooden panel that had once hung in the meeting room of Stamford Tyres.
The philosophy of giving back
For Wee, the shop is an expression of something she has long believed about the responsibility that comes with building a successful business.
“Every business should have a soul,” she said. “We should not just be concerned with making money.”
That conviction found a community. Friends who donated pieces also volunteer their time, helping stage and style the more valuable finds. Wee puts significant personal time into the shop herself, curating, and sharing the stories behind pieces with visitors to the store.
“It became a healing place for me. Even today, I miss him so much that going there makes me feel comfortable. Makes me feel that I’m value-adding.”
Why ART:DIS
The choice of charity partner was not accidental. ART:DIS, which builds livelihoods and creative pathways for persons with disabilities through the arts, was introduced to Wee by her daughter Li Lin, a film director who had worked with ART:DIS artists on her productions.
“Mom, this is a charity really worth supporting,” Li Lin told her.
Wee agreed and went further than a simple financial partnership. ART:DIS artists now appear at Stamford Tyres bazaars and at external events including pop-ups at Bloomberg’s Singapore office and the ART:DIS festival Pocket Fest at Objectifs.
“It’s not that people who come to buy tyres don’t enjoy artwork as well. I want to see them grow alongside us.”
Plans are already in motion to expand the Discovery Shop to occupy the entire second level of the Jurong store, creating a larger platform for ART:DIS and future partners.
The business behind the giving
The generosity Wee now channels was earned the hard way. Her husband and founder was a driven entrepreneur who scaled Stamford Tyres from a small family tyre business into a publicly listed regional company.
The road however was not smooth.
Wee had to mortgage her own home to help him buy the business from his family. She never said no to a request.
“Because I felt that if I didn’t support him, who would?”
Her husband suffered kidney cancer at 40 and a brain tumour ten years later. When things were starting to look up, the business experienced a devastating warehouse fire. Each time, they rebuilt.
Through it all, Wee was by her husband’s side helping to hold the company and the family together.
“Nothing’s impossible. Everything. You put your heart into it,” she said.
An evolution, not a reinvention
When her husband passed in 2024, Wee stepped into the role of executive chairman he had always intended for her. Asked whether this chapter of her life represents a reinvention, she did not hesitate.
“An evolution. The same person. Just pointed in a new direction,” she said.
Tyres keep the business running, but it’s that shop on the second floor that just may be what people talk about more in the years to come.
A version of this interview is available on the podcast.
Discovery Shop is offering 30 per cent off items priced above S$100, until Aug 8. On Aug 1 and 2, a family friendly weekend event will feature carnival games, artisanal coffee, live photo magnet and patch personalisation stations, and artwork activities by ART:DIS artists.
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