Wing On

Wing On is a Hong Kong department-store retailer and one of the territory’s longstanding Chinese-founded retail businesses. Its commercial origins date to 1897, when brothers James Gock Lock and Philip Gock Chin operated a fruit store in Australia. The business imported and sold products including nuts, tea, rice, fireworks, and ginger from China. After returning to Hong Kong with their brother William Gock Son and accumulated savings, the brothers established the Wing On Company in 1907. The new company became the second Chinese-owned department store in Hong Kong and helped introduce a modern, broad-assortment retail format associated with large department stores in Australia. Wing On expanded beyond Hong Kong in 1918, opening a major store on Nanking Road in Shanghai with the involvement of their cousin George Kwok Bew. The Shanghai business became one of the city’s Four Great Companies, a group of prominent department stores founded or developed by Cantonese migrants who had gained commercial experience in Australia. These businesses helped shape Shanghai’s modern commercial district through large premises, extensive merchandise ranges, and comparatively egalitarian service. Wing On’s Shanghai operation occupied two important buildings, including a later extension constructed in the 1930s that was among the city’s early modern high-rise commercial structures. The Shanghai business was separated from the Hong Kong operation by political and ownership changes after the Communist revolution in China. It was partly nationalised in 1956 and fully nationalised in 1966, after which it was renamed and operated under changing identities. A department store in the original Shanghai building resumed use of the Chinese name 永安 in 2005, but it belongs to a separate state-owned company and is not the same corporate business as Hong Kong’s Wing On. The Hong Kong retail business remains associated with Wing On Company International Limited, a Bermuda-registered holding company established in December 1991 and listed in Hong Kong. Wing On Department Stores (Hong Kong) Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of that group. The group also has interests and subsidiaries spanning property, securities, investment management, foreign exchange, and related corporate entities, although the Wing On retail name is primarily associated with department-store operations. Wing On’s Hong Kong estate has been concentrated in several established urban and residential-commercial districts. Its principal store is located in Wing On Centre on Des Voeux Road Central in Sheung Wan. Other outlets have operated under the Wing On Plus format in Jordan–Yau Ma Tei and Tsim Sha Tsui East, as well as in Discovery Bay. The Taikoo Shing store closed in 2015 after the company announced that it would leave the site before the end of its lease. The Wing On Centre store also appeared prominently in the climactic sequence of the 1985 Jackie Chan film Police Story, giving the location a place in Hong Kong popular culture. Today, Wing On is best understood as a heritage Hong Kong department-store brand rather than as a mass international chain. Its identity rests on longevity, Chinese entrepreneurial origins, central-city retail presence, and continuity with the department-store tradition that linked Hong Kong, Shanghai, and overseas Chinese commercial networks.

Wing On’s history began in Australia in 1897, where brothers James Gock Lock and Philip Gock Chin operated a fruit business. The store imported a range of Chinese products, including nuts, tea, rice, fireworks, and ginger. The business formed part of a wider pattern of Cantonese migrant entrepreneurship linking Australia with southern China and Hong Kong. The original Wing On Building at 37 Ultimo Road in Sydney’s Haymarket district remains associated with the company’s early history and has since been repurposed. In 1907, James and Philip returned to Hong Kong with their brother William Gock Son. Using their savings, they founded the Wing On Company, which became the second Chinese-owned department store in Hong Kong. The company represented a transition from specialist food trading to a broad, modern retail format. Its model was influenced by the large Australian department stores familiar to Chinese migrants who had worked or operated businesses there. Wing On later became part of a wider family business network that also included Wing On Bank. The company expanded to Shanghai in 1918. The Shanghai branch was established on Nanking Road with participation from their cousin George Kwok Bew, who had previously been connected with the family’s Australian commercial activities. Wing On became one of Shanghai’s Four Great Companies, alongside Sincere, The Sun, and another major department-store business. These retailers transformed central Shanghai by offering large-scale shopping environments, numerous product categories, and service practices influenced by Australian department-store precedents. Wing On’s Shanghai premises developed over time. The original building stood opposite the Sincere Department Store, while an adjacent extension erected in the 1930s became one of Shanghai’s early modern commercial high-rises. The business was partly nationalised in 1956 following the Communist revolution and fully nationalised in 1966. It was subsequently renamed East is Red Department Store and operated independently of the Hong Kong company. The former Shanghai Wing On buildings also acquired new roles, including use as an Overseas Chinese Store where customers with overseas connections could spend foreign exchange certificates on goods not generally available to other consumers. In 2005, the department store in the original Shanghai building resumed the Chinese name 永安 and restored the exterior toward its historic appearance. This business is state-owned and separate from Wing On’s Hong Kong operations; its renewed use of the Chinese name does not represent a restoration of the original corporate connection. The Hong Kong business continued under the Wing On name and later became part of Wing On Company International Limited. The holding company was established in December 1991 as a Bermuda-registered limited company and became listed in Hong Kong. Its corporate structure includes Wing On Department Stores (Hong Kong) Limited as a wholly owned retail subsidiary, along with property, securities, investment, and financial-services entities. The wider group’s major shareholder vehicles include companies connected with the Kwok family. In Hong Kong, Wing On developed a network of department stores serving central, Kowloon, and outlying residential markets. The main store at Wing On Centre in Sheung Wan remains the most prominent expression of the brand. Wing On Plus locations operated on Nathan Road in Jordan–Yau Ma Tei and in Tsim Sha Tsui East, while a Discovery Bay store served the Lantau Island community. The Taikoo Shing branch at Cityplaza closed in 2015 after the company announced its departure from the premises. The Wing On Centre store gained additional public recognition through its prominent appearance in the final action sequence of Jackie Chan’s 1985 film Police Story. The brand’s historical importance lies in its role as a bridge between overseas Chinese commerce, Hong Kong retailing, and pre-1949 Shanghai department-store culture. Although its present operating footprint is far smaller than that of a global department-store chain, Wing On retains a distinctive heritage position in Hong Kong retail history.

• 2015

  Taikoo Shing store closed

  [1]Wing Onen.wikipedia.org

  Wing On closed its Taikoo Shing outlet after the company announced its departure before the end of the lease.

• 2005

  Chinese name revived at former Shanghai site

  [1]Wing Onen.wikipedia.org

  A separate state-owned department-store company resumed use of the Chinese name 永安 at the original Shanghai building.

• 1991

  Wing On Company International established

  [1]Wing Onen.wikipedia.org

  The listed holding company was established in December as a Bermuda-registered limited company.

• 1986

  Wocom acquired

  [1]Wing Onen.wikipedia.org

  Wing On Group acquired Wocom Holdings, expanding its associated business interests.

• 1973

  Wing On Properties and Securities formed

  [1]Wing Onen.wikipedia.org

  The group’s Wing On Properties and Securities Company was formed.

• 1966

  Shanghai operation fully nationalised

  [1]Wing Onen.wikipedia.org

  The Shanghai business was fully nationalised and renamed East is Red Department Store.

• 1956

  Shanghai operation partly nationalised

  [1]Wing Onen.wikipedia.org

  The Shanghai branch was partly taken into state ownership after the Communist revolution in China.

• 1930

  Shanghai expansion developed

  [1]Wing Onen.wikipedia.org

  An extension to the Shanghai premises was built during the 1930s and became an early modern commercial high-rise.

• 1918

  Shanghai branch opened

  [1]Wing Onen.wikipedia.org

  Wing On expanded to Shanghai with a department store on Nanking Road.

• 1907

  Wing On Company founded in Hong Kong

  [1]Wing Onen.wikipedia.org

  The Gock brothers established the Wing On Company in Hong Kong, creating the territory’s second Chinese-owned department store.

• 1897

  Wing On fruit business established in Australia

  [1]Wing Onen.wikipedia.org

  James Gock Lock and Philip Gock Chin began a fruit business in Australia that traded in fruit and imported Chinese products.

A heritage Hong Kong department-store retailer serving urban and residential communities with a broad general-merchandise assortment.

• Department-store merchandise

  Fashion and apparel

  Wing On’s department-store format includes clothing and fashion merchandise for general consumers. The historical Shanghai operation became particularly associated with large-scale urban shopping, while the Hong Kong stores have continued the broader department-store tradition rather than focusing on a single apparel label.

• Department-store merchandise

  Household and general merchandise

  The retailer offers a broad assortment typical of a traditional department store, including household goods and other everyday consumer merchandise. Specific assortments can vary by branch and are not documented in detail in the supplied reference material.

• Personal accessories

  Accessories, watches, and jewellery

  Accessories form part of the department-store assortment. The separate Shanghai store operating in the former Wing On building is described as having a small watches and accessories department, but that business is not owned by Hong Kong’s Wing On.

• 2015

  Closure of Taikoo Shing branchStrategy

  Background

  Wing On operated a branch at Cityplaza in Taikoo Shing, but the lease was approaching its end.

  Action taken

  The company announced that the branch would close before the end of the lease and ceased operations after August 2, 2015.

  Aftermath

  The site was subsequently taken over by an Eslite store, according to the reference material.

  Source

1. 1Wing Onen.wikipedia.org