From massage chair to gourmet coffee, tea: The wealth-building journey of Singaporean billionaire Ron Sim

Sim, 66, who ranked 30th among the city-state’s richest individuals last year, is the founder and executive chairman of privately held V3 Group, which owns a portfolio of brands operating in more than 100 cities across 27 countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, China, France, and the U.S.

His high-end massage chair brand, OSIM, recorded S$312.4 million (US$230.1 million) in sales and a net profit of S$28.4 million in 2023.

Sim’s rise with Osim is one of Singapore’s most remarkable rags-to-riches tales. Raised in a modest family with seven children, he spent much of his early years taking on various jobs, such as selling noodles and waiting tables, to earn money.

“When you are born into a poor family, there’s nothing but hunger, and when you’re hungry, it drives you harder,” Sim told CNA in a 2023 interview, adding that he had wanted to make money instead of studying since primary school.

He decided to pursue his entrepreneurial dream in 1979, leaving high school to start R. Sim Trading, a retailer of various household goods. However, the company struggled during the 1985 recession, prompting Sim to seek a more focused direction.

He launched Health Care & Check in 1989 to offer health products before homing in on massage chairs and rebranding his company as Osim in 1994. The name is a combination of his last name with the letter O, which signifies his ambitions for international growth.

Over four decades, the premium massage chair brand has established a strong presence in the global market, boasting a vast retail network across Singapore, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, Indonesia, the U.S., and beyond.

“A good brand will prevail if you position it right and if you continue innovating, creating new products and new experiences that people will remember. It has always been in me to build brands,” Sim said.

The firm was listed on the Singapore Exchange in 2000 before Sim made a strategic decision to take it private in 2016, when it had a valuation of S$1 billion, according to Forbes.

Following this move, he restructured his business under the name V3, short for Vision Three, which operates through three core units: V3 Brands, which focuses on acquiring and creating wellness and affordable luxury gourmet brands; V3 Capital, which pursues global investment opportunities; and V3 Assets, which manages the group’s interests in healthcare and real estate.

Sim has also found much success from his coffee and tea ventures, including the century-old Moroccan brand Bacha Coffee and TWG Tea operated by V3 Gourmet, a part of the group’s V3 Brands unit.

The Bacha Coffee store at Changi Airport Terminal 3 Transit Zone in Singapore. Photo from the company’s website

He invested in TWG Tea in 2008, seeing its potential among the same clientele who buys his massage chairs. He took full control of the company in 2011 after winning a legal dispute with a cofounder. TWG now operates over 70 stores worldwide.

Bacha Coffee traces its origins to the Dar El Bacha palace in Marrakesh, Morocco, in 1910. It was once a favorite spot for high-profile figures before shuttering after World War II, according to global coffee industry research platform World Coffee Portal.

It was revived by V3 Gourmet in 2019 with a store in the high-end Ion mall on Singapore’s Orchard Road.

The brand now has 27 outlets across 11 markets in East Asia, the Middle East and North Africa. It has revealed plans to open a flagship store on Paris’ famed Champs-Élysées, worth 22 million euros (US$22.8 million), and expand into Macau and Saudi Arabia this year.

It has also entered into a franchise agreement with railway conglomerate The Tokyu Group to launch in Japan, with its first shop expected to open in Tokyo in the first half of 2025.

For a business to prosper, Sim believes ongoing innovation and a readiness to embrace risks are essential.

“I think Singapore companies must be more daring, must have more foresight. They must think they are equal to or even better than anyone else,” Sim told The Straits Times.

He also emphasizes the importance of a brand’s positioning, sustainability, the ability to scale internationally, and the qualities of its leaders. Each V3 brand is led by its own founder or CEO, who meets with Sim monthly for reviews and strategy discussions.

Sim believes that achieving success requires sacrifices, particularly when it comes to work-life balance.

“I’m not saying that work life balance is not good. But when you want to be successful, you put more time into your business, which means less time for everything else,” he said, reflecting on how he had to spend less time with his family during OSIM’s early years.

Sim also encourages entrepreneurs to prepare for setbacks and stay resilient during the four critical stages of a company’s development.

“During high time, don’t lose your head. During low time, don’t lose your heart. At correctional time, don’t lose your guts and during breaking point, don’t lose your spirit.”