Chong Hok Hoi, Bob

Biography Highlights Records Photos & Documents
Learning his father's motto of doing business: ''Winners don’t take all''.
Chong Ching Um proved to be very good at dealing with people and forging valued long-term relationships with both customers and suppliers. While making money to feed his family, he never forgot that other parties in deals also needed to profit from their efforts. Always ready to give a helping hand to business friends suffering from financial problems, Chong Ching Um succeeded in building up his credibility in both Hong Kong’s watch and banking sectors. Indeed, so highly was he regarded that factories holding purchase orders for supplying spare parts to Chung Nam could easily obtain bank loans.


Title Learning his father's motto of doing business: ''Winners don’t take all''.
Date 27/09/2010
Subject Industry
Duration 50s
Language Cantonese
Material Type Audio
Collection Oral History Archives
Repository Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No. LKF-CCH-HLT-001
Maintaining a business by combining old and new ideas

Bob Chong stressed that while all family businesses needed to keep their good philosophy in order to survive. Nevertheless they should never limit themselves to old ways of thinking.

 




Title Maintaining a business by combining old and new ideas
Date 27/09/2010
Subject Industry
Duration 54s
Language Cantonese
Material Type Audio
Collection Oral History Archives
Repository Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No. LKF-CCH-HLT-002
Summer Jobs: ''Walking day and night, shoes were almost worn out.''
While the retailers could not return the less popular models, they could negotiate price reductions with Chung Nam. When Bob Chong was at school during the 1960s, he often took summer jobs with the family business. Carrying a leather case weighing 20-30lbs, he accompanied company salesmen to shops all over Hong Kong. Offering him an excellent opportunity to observe and learn how to communicate with customers, the work gave Bob Chong a valuable lesson about sales work.



Title Summer Jobs: ''Walking day and night, shoes were almost worn out.''
Date 27/09/2010
Subject Industry
Duration 1m
Language Cantonese
Material Type Audio
Collection Oral History Archives
Repository Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No. LKF-CCH-HLT-003
Promoting brand watch: ''No later, no sooner! With an Octo watch, time is just right!''
Chung Nam had also begun placing advertisements on tram, magazine, cinema, radio and TV, and even hired artist George Lam to star in its TV commercials. Bob Chong still remembered the classic Octo advertising script: "No later, no sooner! With an Octo watch, time is just right!



Title Promoting brand watch: ''No later, no sooner! With an Octo watch, time is just right!''
Date 27/09/2010
Subject Industry
Duration 1m
Language Cantonese
Material Type Audio
Collection Oral History Archives
Repository Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No. LKF-CCH-HLT-004
The HKWMA changed country of origin regulations
The HKWMA’s greatest success was undoubtedly the change of Hong Kong’s country of origin regulations. The Hong Kong government at first viewed a watch’s place of assembly as being its country of origin. Bob Chong lobbied the government, arguing that the place where the watch movement was produced should be the basis for country of origin regulations. The government and industry finally came to a consensus that a "Swiss" rather than "Swiss Made" label could be used to distinguish watches manufactured in Hong Kong.



Title The HKWMA changed country of origin regulations
Date 27/09/2010
Subject Industry
Duration 1m20s
Language Cantonese
Material Type Audio
Collection Oral History Archives
Repository Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No. LKF-CCH-HLT-005
Being a good successor: ‘’I am the last one to leave the office.’’
Bob Chong recalled when he first joined Chung Nam in 1979, he tried his best to avoid the comfortable manner of a second-generation successor. He committed to his work promptly. He acted as an apprentice and learned all he could from his colleagues. He quickly won their recognition and keeped a long-term relationship with them. 



Title Being a good successor: ‘’I am the last one to leave the office.’’
Date 27/09/2010
Subject Industry
Duration 48s
Language Cantonese
Material Type Audio
Collection Oral History Archives
Repository Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No. LKF-CCH-HLT-006
Three corporate values of Chung Nam
Bob Chong did not mind being described as an industrialist or an entrepreneur. When asked about Chung Nam, he always insisted on three corporate values. Firstly, there should always be mutual respect between management and employees, customers and suppliers. Secondly, companies should always strived to conduct business with integrity and social responsibility. Thirdly, companies should eliminate wastage by saving energy.


Title Three corporate values of Chung Nam
Date 27/09/2010
Subject Industry
Duration 1m54s
Language Cantonese
Material Type Audio
Collection Oral History Archives
Repository Hong Kong Memory Project
Note to Copyright Copyright owned by Hong Kong Memory Project
Accession No. LKF-CCH-HLT-007