OUR MILESTONES
Discover the exhilarating journey, evolution and breakthroughs that have shaped CHARLES & KEITH Group and its flagship brands CHARLES & KEITH and PEDRO to become what they are today
1996
The story began in the early 1990s. Brothers Charles and Keith Wong’s nascent experiences helping their parents run a humble shoe store in Ang Mo Kio in the suburbs of Singapore sparked their entrepreneurial spirits.
Driven by their passion for the shoe business, the brothers opened their first CHARLES & KEITH brand store in Amara Shopping Centre, Singapore. Through their interactions with their customers and learning their preferences, they recognised from an early stage the need to set the brand apart from others, by shifting from the traditional model of selling shoes obtained from wholesale partners to selling their own designs.
The new business model gave customers a fresh variety of design options, which proved to be so popular that it led to the rapid expansion of stores throughout Singapore.
1998
Eyeing the potential of the global footwear market, CHARLES & KEITH set its sights on expanding beyond Singapore, and opened the first store in Taman Anggrek, in the metropolitan city of Jakarta, Indonesia.
2004
With the advent of digital commerce, CHARLES & KEITH was an early adopter and became the first company in Singapore to launch an ecommerce website, extending its reach to customers beyond brick-and-mortar stores.
2005
2006
A new brand, PEDRO was unveiled to empower the fashion-forward community with a premium range of essential men’s footwear, as part of CHARLES & KEITH GROUP.
2007
PEDRO saw rapid success and set foot in Philippines as its first international expansion.
2008
The premium men’s brand’s dynamic developments extended to its product line – releasing its first collection of women’s footwear.
2011
L Capital Asia invested in the CHARLES & KEITH brand. The brand set up its regional headquarters and launched its first store in Shanghai, China.
PEDRO released its first collection of women’s bags.
The Group relocated its headquarters to a modern, purpose-built office and warehouse building at Tai Seng Link, Singapore.
2014
PEDRO marked its first store opening in Shanghai, China while the luxurious Venetian Macao housed CHARLES & KEITH’s first store in Macau SAR.
2015
CHARLES & KEITH unveiled its Jewellery Collection.
2017
CHARLES & KEITH Little Collection debuted with the aim to bring out the playfulness of kids with a budding sense of style. The brand also launched its corporate-owned entity in Japan to drive its ecommerce business in the country, and opened its first store in Taiwan, Breeze Center. Back in Singapore, CHARLES & KEITH unveiled a stunning duplex façade-designed store at the renowned Changi Airport Terminal 4 – offering a first class shopping experience.
2018
CHARLES & KEITH continued with expanding its retail network around the world – taking an opportunity to acquire the business from its franchisee and relaunched the brand as a corporate-owned business in South Korea. Hong Kong SAR saw CHARLES & KEITH’s first store at the bustling Queen’s Road while Japan opened its first brick-and-mortar store in Nagoya. The brand also set up an office in London, United Kingdom, and launched its United Kingdom ecommerce site.
2019
CHARLES & KEITH Group puts sustainability at the heart of its growth.
Committed to make a deeper, more positive impact through its business, the brand launched its Sustainability Department in 2019 to drive and push its sustainability work in three areas – Where We Make, What You Wear, and How We Work.
2020
Brand Revitalisation
PEDRO’s logo was reinvented with a new perspective of Modern, Sophisticated and Understated, marking a fresh take for the brand as it propels forward.
The brand’s ecommerce site underwent a makeover with refreshed aesthetics and new features to meet evolving trends.
rePEDRO was introduced – as a symbol of PEDRO’s dedication to creating more responsibly – featuring a capsule collection made with more sustainable materials without compromising on style.
2021
CHARLES & KEITH celebrated its 25th Anniversary with a limited-edition capsule collection — the Anniversary Series — featuring modern and versatile bags and shoe styles made from eco-friendly recycled materials that boast 90’s-inspired elements. The campaign starred new-gen supermodel Lily McMenamy.
The brand unveiled its 6th generation store concept in Cityplaza, Hong Kong SAR and Kaohsiung E Sky Mall, Taiwan. The new store concept stays true to our brand codes, while injecting the personality of each individual city it calls home with one-of-a-kind features.
Employees in Singapore and China worked together and contributed to the birth of the PEDRO Icon – a symbolic representation of the brand introducing a collection with notable pieces that were made for everyone.
2022
Artist and multi-hyphenate Krystal joined the CHARLES & KEITH family as its first global brand ambassador, fronting the brand’s Spring Summer Collection.
CHARLES & KEITH debuted at Metaverse Fashion Week – the world’s first-ever fashion week that is set in virtual reality – offering digital wearables, such as the iconic Koa shoulder bag and Alex thong sandals.
Embracing the blockchain world, CHARLES & KEITH became the first Singapore fashion brand to offer cryptocurrency payment mode on its ecommerce website.
PEDROSTUDIO was launched to introduce a collection that sits differently from the main PEDRO women’s line, where special emphasis and attention is placed on its details and design.
Music artist ITZY joined the CHARLES & KEITH family as its newest global brand ambassador – fronting the brand’s Fall 2022 campaign, featuring the Lula patent bags and shoes.
CHARLES & KEITH marks the brand’s international expansion to the Americas with the opening of its first brick-and-mortar store at the Artz Pedregal Mall in Mexico City.
2023
CHARLES & KEITH expands its presence in the metaverse by opening the doors to its virtual world, CHARLESKEITHHAUS, on virtual real estate platform The Sandbox.
Actress Han So Hee joined the CHARLES & KEITH family as its newest global brand ambassador – fronting the brand’s Fall/Winter 2023 campaign, featuring the Petra bag.
CHARLES & KEITH unveils its first flagship store in South Korea, located in the bustling shopping belt of Gangnam, Seoul.
2024
Launch of the New Brand Graphic Identity and the L’initial Collection
The brand unveiled 3 Global Flagship stores in Shibuya, Japan, Chengdu, China and Changi, Singapore. The new flagships embody the brand’s minimalistic and elegant codes, while injecting personality of each iconic location.