As the big son of the famous Tomson group, Charles Tong does anything that will naturally attract attention. In January 2018, we walked into Tomson Yipin, overlooking the Huangpu River in Shanghai, and met him, a second-generation entrepreneur.
Steady, do base evergreen high quality real estate, over the years, Tomson's implementation has not changed. But in Charles Tong, also reflects the change of the second generation: from electric cars to education, art investment, The Times are changing, consumption is changing, he will also change along with the trend.
Over the years, the family business pursues steady inheritance
"There is a lot of responsibility to carry on the family business. What we inherit is not only a family business, but also the transmission of the enterprise spirit. In the early rule approach, the term might have been limited. But times are changing, and I've seen that change especially in the last few years: the conservative, stable business models and ideas of 100 years ago are very different from what they are today. With the power of mobile Internet and the change of life, China has achieved the most advanced status in the world. So, the most essential thing that we carry on the family business, the "hold", will not change, but the flexibility of thinking is also very important."
came to Shanghai Pudong Huangpu River tomson, and Charles Tong first met, he answered the inheritance of the question. Standing in the visionary of his father Tomson years early development of this building, the mood is quite emotional. As the son of "the first developer in Pudong", Charles Tong talked to us in 2018 about the sudden death of his father when he was nearly 24 years old in 2004. "Perhaps in the eyes of outsiders, a change of identity is an overnight change, but for me, it is actually a journey of 14 years.
"My parents' strong love and confidence for the city, as well as their long-term layout, their attitude, vision and focus on doing things, are the greater wealth I have inherited. Tomson's very important "attachment" is to do a century-old enterprise, the current performance is bigger, if it cannot continue, it is not called success. Our goal is to build a lasting legacy."
Charles Tong said tomson roots in Shanghai, and his roots are a standard Shanghainese, grandpa was in Shanghai to do a good business, his father was also born in Shanghai, starting from scratch. "The family has gone through a lot of turbulence over the years. In the process of investing in China, I also experienced some challenges, such as the 1997 financial crisis and so on. Finally, a few years before my father died, he gave us a very strict business philosophy: let's not be the fastest and biggest, let's be strong and last a long time."
Since taking over tomson, as vice-chairman and executive director of tomson Group, Mr Tang has been asked by shareholders why you are not aggressive enough. A real estate company that was a fraction of your size is now a fraction of yours... "But tomson, on the other hand, is more resilient. Times may change, the way we do business and the way we think about development, but our 'attachment' will not change."
Interestingly, as a child, Tang studied in Taiwan, Hong Kong and the United States before returning to China in 2001. Compared with some of the "second generation" in China, Charles Tong has not seen how the domestic environment is changing little by little since childhood. "This decade of rapid development, the government's boldness, on the contrary, gave me a great inspiration. The whole city has made such progress and urges me to follow the progress of The Times."
Shanghai will always be Tomson's stronghold. Tomson has been committed to both leasing and selling since its establishment. Up to now, tomson owns a large number of commercial and residential buildings in Pudong, Shanghai, and carries out continuous operation and maintenance of property projects.
Prudence, in addition to the concept of business, is also a responsibility to the community. Charles Tong said that he is very optimistic about the future development of Shanghai's real estate market, Shanghai's position as China's economic and financial center will not be shaken, "2040" before the target, Shanghai's development has only just begun.
"As a real estate company, ultimately you have to build a high-quality, livable house. Real estate is also an industry with social responsibility. No matter the price rises or falls, the essence is to build a space suitable for people to live in, or even to use it for generations. Tomson's philosophy is that quality always comes first. In fact, tomson is now doing both stable and steady growth, but also the pursuit of change. Also based on real estate and participating in more diversified investments."
Diversified investment, I pay more attention to spiritual consumptio
Charles Tong gave us an example. Recently, there was an online post about a Young Frenchman who came back to China after living in China for several years. He suddenly felt very uncomfortable because life in China is so rich and convenient! "There have been great changes in the society in recent years, such as the changes in life caused by the mobile Internet, which also gave me a lot of thoughts."
Therefore, apart from the company's real estate investment, Charles Tong has also made a lot of diversified investments in other industries in recent years. Her mother, Xu Feng, has just received a lifetime achievement award at the Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan, and the family has a long tradition of investing in film and television culture. Charles Tong said that his mother is currently working on a script and hopes to make a good film after farewell my Concubine.
"Investing is now something I spend more time doing every day. After the death of my father, Tomson and my family went through one of the most difficult times, and now the day-to-day management of the company has become very scientific. Managing Tomson doesn't have to be the time I spend most of my time. I just think about what else I want to do."
Now, in addition to electric cars, education, art consumption and finance, Tangzijia has also invested in the establishment of Artcare and is actively seeking the layout of e-sports field.
In 2017, Iconic electric cars invested by Charles Tong have aroused a great response in the circle. "I got involved at a very good time. In many foreign countries, the development of electric vehicles has been very rapid, and within a few years all electric vehicles have been replaced. China also has this trend, which is the new blue sea."
"The trend is to combine new content with traditional property across borders," he said. Diversified investment layout is also a positive response to the current market, technology, financial and customer changes.
In the field of education, Tangzijia recently invested in Pingping Bilingual school qingpu Branch. "This will be an industry that I will focus on for the next few years. Education has a future. Investing in education is also doing good for society. In five years, maybe 20 schools."
In life, many people know Charles Tong as a lover of contemporary art, golf and wine. But for him, some of life's hobbies have not become money-making channels. Although he started ARTCARE, an art-services firm, the idea was to provide insurance, transport, warehousing and so on to collectors with similar interests. In the last six months, ARTCARE has made a strategic adjustment to embed more cultural elements into the city. "Young people today are more spiritual, so we will do more interesting exhibitions and do more things to integrate art into society."
She has collected the works of many contemporary artists and has become friends with many contemporary artists. Naturally, Charles Tong has been subtly influenced by them. One example is the artistic imagination he would bring to tomson's residential space. In Tomson I, the place where we shot him was the gallery. At ordinary times, Charles Tong will also put his own collection of paintings in the community, and will regularly re-exhibition. "Tomson is not just a real estate company. We don't just build houses and sell them and leave. We are more in the real estate business.
"To be persistent and innovative is my positioning as well as my strategic plan for the company. I want to keep the market sharp and bring tomson more possibilities."
The setting sun gradually came to an end from the side of the Huangpu River, and Charles Tong politely said goodbye to us.
"Art, wine, golf, in my opinion, all require a practice of patience, willingness, and taste. It has a subtle influence on how I see the world and how I see people.
The second generation, with a leisurely and chic attitude towards everything, "I like to taste the position slowly. In the end, career and life are all about love."
