On 14 March 2019, we returned to The Joyden Hall for the OWNDAYS SUMMIT 2019 IN SINGAPORE. The theme this year was International Cultural Night and the guests came in ethnic costumes from all over the world, including Korean Hanbok, India Saree and even Egyptian outfits.
With 2019 being our 6th anniversary in Singapore, this summit was one of special significance and we were honoured to have over 20 local business partners joined us for the night. Together with over 260 staff in attendance, we celebrated another year of hard work on this beautiful starry night.
Guests began streaming in and the foyer outside the hall was soon alive with chatter and laughter. A huge custom-made photo wall was set up and there was a long line of guests waiting to have their photos taken. To make the night more memorable, every guest was given a party favour to bring home. The cream colour teddy bear wearing the iconic black OWNDAYS tee shirt was a big hit among all the guests.
We kicked off the night when the final group of guests arrived. The guests were treated to a sensory display of dazzling laser and smoke effects along with the opening video being played on the screen. The hall then turned pitch dark and the sound of an electric guitar rang across the darkness. The stage lighted up at this point and it was Aliff, our newly appointed Assistant Sales Trainer, striking the chord on stage. The music of Bon Jovi’s 2000 classic, It’s My Life, came on and the 4 Area Managers showed up at the entrance of the hall, all dressed in black leather jackets. They grooved and sang along the music as they made their way to the stage across the hall. It was a brilliant performance that got everyone all amped up!
After which, the emcees for the night made their appearance on stage. They were our HR Manager Ronald and Assistant Sales Trainer Shevon. It was the duo’s maiden try as event emcees and the guests were looking forward to have them bring everyone through an evening of excitements.
Managing Director Umiyama san shared details about the capital and business alliance with new investors in OWNDAYS. Besides giving the overview of the alliance, he also talked about the rationale behind the alliance and the aim of growing OWNDAYS into a world-class multinational corporation. Umiyama san ended his speech with a surprise announcement that we would have a General Manager Selection in 2020 and that he looked forward to a new leader emerging among the local staff.
Singapore missed the world champion title by a narrow margin in the last OWNDAYS I.R.A.C. World Stage after 3 consecutive wins in previous years. The winners of the Singapore Stage would be tasked with the responsibility to reclaim that glory in the grand final in Japan this year.
12 championship hopefuls from the Rookie and Full Cert category had emerged from the qualifying rounds held this January. Rookie category finalists were Bryan Chan (Seletar Mall outlet), Sam Yong (SingPost Centre outlet), Erick Stefanus (Head Office), James Chong (City Square outlet), Peter Lim (Head Office) and Joycelyn Kang (IMM outlet). Full Cert category finalists were Daniel Chan (Plaza Singapura outlet), Kenny Yeo (White Sands outlet), Alvin Lek (Suntec City outlet), Trevor Hwong (Head Office), Elly Than (Compass One outlet) and Andy Lim (City Square outlet).
The finalists had 15 minutes to assemble a pair of rimless glasses. With the spotlight shining on them, which two of them would be able to endure the immense pressure and secure their spots to the grand final? Their fate lied in the hands of the 3 judges – Toku san (General Manager of OWNDAYS Singapore), Steven (Senior Manager of Global Business Operations) and Canny (Optician Trainer of OWNDAYS Singapore).
We had 45 minutes of free time for the guests to enjoy a delectable buffet dinner and free-flow of drinks. The guests took the opportunity to go from table to table to catch up with one another. Many were also having fun taking photos together since it was a rare sight to have everyone dressed up in interesting ethnic outfit.
This was a time everyone was waiting for! We had a total of 60 lucky draw prizes to be given away this summit. For the 41st to 60th prize, the emcees roamed into the floor and had the guests draw the winners at random. The guests raised their hands in earnest, hoping to be noticed by the emcees and be asked to draw the winners
Following which, the emcees moved back to the stage where Toku san picked the winners for the 21st to 40th prize. The prizes included earphones, polaroid cameras and home appliances such as coffee machine and air fryer.
A total of 6 staff awards were given out this summit in recognition of the hard work and exemplary performance of the staff who had stood out above the others in the past year. To add a little twist this time, we invited three award winners of 2018 to announce and present the awards to this year’s winners in an Oscars-style fashion. It was heartening to hear the 2018 winners shared their journeys in the past year after bagging the awards and even more meaningful for the incoming winners to receive the awards from the hands of the 2018 winners.
2019 Best Sales award went to Nurul Amirah Binte Suhaimi. She received the award from Jack Tay.
2019 Best Refraction & Dispensing award went to Grace Goeh Sin Lin. She received the award from Avenlyn Chong.
2019 Best Shop Manager award went to Avenlyn Chong who was just on-stage seconds ago to present the Best Refraction & Dispensing award to this year’s winner. Avenlyn received the award from Lyvern Lie.
The next three awards were presented by Toku san.
2019 Best New Joiner award went to Dorcas Shayna Chua
2019 Best Customer Service award went to Jordan Jee Thin Siang
The last award for this segment was the Special Honorary Award, given to one staff who had made huge contribution to OWNDAYS. The winner was Steven Chong, currently the Senior Manager of Global Business Operations Division. Since joining OWNDAYS in October 2013, Steven has been instrumental in helping grow OWNDAYS into the market leader position we enjoy today. He is in fact an indispensable asset to OWNDAYS!
On stage, Steven thanked the management team and the colleagues while in tears. He well deserved the award and everyone cheered and clapped as loud as they could. Congratulations Steven and all award winners! We look forward to more stellar performance from you!
The results were in! It was time to find out who would be the two representing Singapore in the OWNDAYS I.R.A.C. World Stage. The 12 finalists made their way onto the stage, all looking very nervous. This was after all a matter of personal and national pride.
We started off with the Rookie category. The winner was Joycelyn. This was her second time clinching the ticket to the grand final in Japan. After honing her skills and learning from her experience on the World Stage, Joycelyn is now all set to take over the world in Japan.
The Full Cert category winner was Elly. Due to personal reasons, Elly had to give up her spot to the grand final and the runner-up Trevor will now represent Singapore in the World Stage.
Joycelyn and Trevor are now one step closer to the World No.1 glory and we are counting on them to bring back the Golden Pliers and the champion title for Singapore this year!
2019 Shop Manager General Election started off as early as January this year. There were 56 applicants in total and 43 of them made it into the first round after going through a written test. After the 1st round voting, 34 candidates managed to move on to the final round. After the 2nd company-wide voting, the top 28 candidates would be appointed shop managers with effect from 01 April 2019.
As the results came onto the screen, cheers could be heard from around the floor. Elected shop managers made their way onto the stage and Toku san presented the appointment certificates to them. Among them, we had several first-time shop managers and everyone was eager to see what new synergies and ideas they would be bringing to the team!
It was an exhilarating moment when we came down to the top 2 shop managers – the battle for 1st place between 2018 Best Shop Manager Lyvern and 2019 Best Shop Manager Avenlyn and with only one-point difference between them! The guests held their breath in anticipation as Toku san stood between the two young ladies, holding onto their hands. The 1st place shop manager in 2019 was…Lyvern!!! Lyvern had secured top place in the general election two years in a row!
With the 28 new shop managers behind him, Toku san spoke to everyone about his aspiration for OWNDAYS in the coming year and of his expectations from the new batch of shop managers. Toku san’s words were a huge motivation for all the staff and everyone was determined to continue doing his best!
Umiyama san came onstage to draw the lucky winners for the top 20 prizes which included Dyson hair dryers, Samsung galaxy watches, Apple watches, PlayStation 4, Samsung Smart TV, iPhone XS and many more! Every time a name was announced, there were both cheers and sighs from the floor.
There was a surprise for everyone after the top prize, a 13-inch MacBook Pro, was given out. Emcee Ronald announced that there were more prizes to be won! There were 35 sets of shopping vouchers worth $100 each, a Huawei nova 3i phone, two 12-inch MacBook Airs and an iPad Pro to be won. These were sponsored by our very generous business partners and everyone was overjoyed!
Saving the best to the last, we had one final award for the night. It was the OWNDAYS BY OWNDAYS, an award of the highest accolade that is given to one staff who has consistently exceled and demonstrated the best OWNDAYS traits in the past one year.
Lights in the house were dimmed and a video came onto the screen. It documented the journey of the winner as she started her career in OWNDAYS as well as the words from Toku san on the reason for selecting this staff as this year’s winner. The video ended with the picture of the winner and it was Lyvern!
With tears streaming down her face, Lyvern made her way to the stage where Toku san was waiting to welcome her and present the award to her. It was a double-win again for Lyvern this year and she thanked the management, her team, and all fellow colleagues for their support.
Congratulations Lyvern! No one deserved the 2019 OWNDAYS BY OWNDAYS award more than you do! We’re proud of you and we hope you’d continue to do your best!
Group CEO Tanaka san spoke to everyone about his vision of having local staff assume the role of the general manager in OWNDAYS outposts around the world. According to him, the General Manager Selection would be a huge turning point for OWNDAYS. Being OWNDAYS’ first international foray, he hoped to kick-start this leadership renewal process in Singapore and for Singapore to continue achieving growth and major milestones in the days ahead.
The staff in the hall were filled with excitement for the upcoming developments in OWNDAYS and were determined to continue striving for the best!
Toku san joined Tanaka san on stage and led everyone in the OWNDAYS cheer.
Yeah! Yeah! OWNDAYS!!!!
With the OWNDAYS cheer resounding in the hall, the OWNDAYS SUMMIT 2019 IN SINGAPORE came to a splendid close. We had commemorated our accomplishments in the past one year and it is time to begin another chapter in the history of OWNDAYS Singapore.
