With his measured tone and hands still bearing faint traces of pewter dust from the factory floor, Chen Tien Yue embodies the quiet authority of a leader who has spent two decades refining a legacy. Having joined the family business in 2003 after a stint at management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, Chen draws on the data-driven strategies from his consulting days with a deep respect for Royal Selangor’s rich heritage.
Acting as the company’s executive director of marketing, Chen has helped Royal Selangor stay relevant in the modern age while preserving its legacy of craftsmanship. He has been instrumental in introducing new product categories, expanding into new markets, and fostering collaborations with award-winning designers and international brands such as Marvel Comics, the British Museum, and Starbucks.
Royal Selangor, founded in 1885 by Yong Koon, a pewtersmith from Shantou, China, recently celebrated its 140th anniversary. From its humble beginnings as a small workshop in Kuala Lumpur crafting ceremonial items for Chinese temples, the company has evolved into the world’s largest pewter brand and one of the leading pewter manufacturers globally.
Known for its high-quality products and innovative designs, Royal Selangor’s collections of products now span from traditional pieces such as its iconic ‘melon teapot’ (still cast from Yong’s original moulds) to contemporary creations such as Star Wars-themed chess sets—thus showcasing the brand’s ability to blend heritage with modern appeal.
View more photos of Royal Selangor’s recent 140 anniversary event
Royal Selangor turns 140 this year. How do you honour its heritage while ensuring it remains relevant to younger generations?
Our visitor centre in Kuala Lumpur makes heritage tangible—you can watch artisans pour molten pewter into founder Yong Koon’s original 19th-century melon teapot moulds. But preservation isn’t about nostalgia. Younger consumers across Asia crave craftsmanship stories, so we’ve launched collaborations such as the Star Wars chess set that took three years to perfect. Pewter’s weight becomes part of the narrative—when a Marvel fan holds our Captain America shield coaster, they’re feeling 140 years of metalworking tradition.
The brand’s collaborations—from Marvel to the British Museum—often blend pop culture with craftsmanship. What criteria guide these partnerships?
It starts with shared DNA. When we recreated the Sutton Hoo helmet as a tea caddy for the British Museum, pewter’s malleability preserved every seventh-century engraving—that technical synergy matters. The Pop Mart collaboration was strategic: putting Qing Dynasty motifs on a Space Molly figurine introduced pewter to toy collectors in China.
But my favourite remains the melon teapot designed by my great-grandfather. We still use his original moulds, and when a customer brought one back for cleaning after 80 years, it proved timeless design transcends generations.
View Royal Selangor’s celebration of its heritage
Audiobooks and runs are your escapes from daily pressures. Do these habits influence your creative or leadership mindset?
Absolutely. During half-marathon training, I listened to a variety of biographies on people such as Al Pacino, Patrick Stewart, and Masayoshi Son—their stories about overcoming challenges in life taught me resilience isn’t inherited; it’s forged. Hearing the real-life accounts of these larger-than-life personalities helps humanise them and it’s genuinely interesting to hear how they have lived their lives.
What leadership lesson from the past two decades resonates most as you celebrate this milestone anniversary?
The COVID-19 pandemic was the most daunting challenge we’ve ever faced, posing a very real threat to our existence. With malls closed, our retail business suffered significantly, and we had to close some stores. Despite these hurdles, we prioritised our people and focused on what needed to be done. It was a stressful and demanding period, but I couldn’t be prouder of our team. They didn’t just adapt to the adverse circumstances—they evolved. We emerged from the pandemic stronger and better, with a renewed sense of purpose.
Looking ahead, what vision do you have for Royal Selangor’s next decade?
We’re pushing for more innovation from our R&D team. It’s a positive direction as we continue our ESG (environmental, social, and governance) journey, finding practical and sustainable solutions. We’ve installed 3,000 solar panels on our roof and removed polystyrene from our packaging. Besides that, we’ve made strides in upcycling, combining sawdust with resin to create a plastic-like material used in product development, such as the base and backing of our photo frames.
This approach not only keeps things interesting for our team, but also challenges us to find new ways to use pewter, ensuring our legacy remains relevant and exciting for future generations.
