Wrexham 'off and running' after beating Hull on penalties in League Cup clash
Wrexham's win on penalties over Hull City in Tuesday's League Cup first-round meeting has helped them kickstart their campaign after a disappointing loss to Southampton in the Championship, the Welsh club's manager Phil Parkinson said.
Jack Marriott scored the winning penalty as Wrexham beat Hull 5-3 on penalties, after substitute Ollie Palmer scored twice in added time to force a penalty shootout following a 3-3 draw.
Wrexham, co-owned by Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds and fellow Hollywood A-lister American Rob McElhenney, were defeated in their first English second-tier game for 43 years on Saturday as Southampton scored two late goals to snatch a 2-1 win.
"I said to the lads, you know, we're not coming into this division just to set up and to stop teams, we can play," Parkinson said in an interview with club media.
"But one thing's for sure, the spirit, what we're all about was there for all to see, which is really important for the new lads who have joined us to see that we go right to the end. We had a huge disappointment on Saturday.
"And we've got our season off and running with a result tonight. Tonight, it was good to get a result and get through to the next round and show everybody what we're all about."
Parkinson added that the home win over Hull had helped Wrexham acclimatise to their revamped Racecourse Ground stadium, ahead of their meeting with West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
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"It's great taste for us tonight. We needed the game on our new pitch," he added.
"Dugouts on that side, a lot of new players, obviously all not starting for various reasons. We needed this stress rehearsal, really, in a competitive game."
Wrexham's popularity has sky-rocketed on both sides of the Atlantic due to the North American owners and the smash hit "Welcome to Wrexham" documentary. REUTERS
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Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Made In Singapore: Charles & Keith's risks and rewards strategy of doing business in crisis
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Looking back on his decades-long journey in shoes, Charles & Keith co-founder Charles Wong believes the brand's success abroad has to do with good timing and a healthy risk appetite. SINGAPORE – Mr Neeraj Teckchandani remembers the first time he saw a Charles & Keith store. It was 2003 and the chief executive of Apparel Group, a Dubai-based fashion and retail conglomerate, had been visiting Singapore for market research. The group had just secured the rights to launch Canadian footwear brand Aldo in South-east Asia, with Singapore as its first market. 'When we were doing the market research, the one name which popped up everywhere in our research with the landlords and consumers was Charles & Keith,' says Mr Teckchandani, who decided to visit its Wisma Atria store. 'It was crazy. The traffic was mind-boggling. We saw a huge potential in this brand.' That would be the start of a beautiful partnership that has lasted till today, with Apparel Group now the brand's official UAE partner, responsible for opening more than 70 Charles & Keith stores in the Middle East. By now, most Singaporeans will know and cheer the fact that footwear label Charles & Keith (C&K) is a proudly home-grown brand. Beginning in 1990 as a discount shoe store in Ang Mo Kio, it is today Singapore's most successful fashion export, with more than 600 stores in over 30 countries. They never set out to conquer the world, confesses chief executive Charles Wong. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Jalan Bukit Merah fire: PMD battery could have started fatal blaze, says SCDF Singapore 4 housebreaking suspects taken to Bukit Timah crime scene under police escort Singapore To Vers or not to Vers: How will this scheme affect HDB prices? Asia Citizenship for foreign talents: How this footballer from Brazil became Vietnam's favourite 'Son' Business MyRepublic customers to see no immediate changes to existing services: StarHub Asia Malaysian MP Rafizi says his son was jabbed with syringe in planned attack, threatened with Aids Asia India, Singapore ministers discuss deeper tie-ups in digitalisation, skills, industrial parks Singapore From quiet introvert to self-confident student: How this vulnerable, shy teen gets help to develop and discover her strength 'We didn't have a big plan on how this brand would eventually become. We just wanted to create accessible fashion products for our consumers in the neighbourhood,' he tells The Straits Times. Charles & Keith co-founder and chief executive Charles Wong at the brand's headquarters in Tai Seng. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY Once the enthusiastic face of the brand, Mr Wong, 51, stepped out of the spotlight in recent years to let the company's global accent speak for itself. He was also busy growing the business in China over the last decade. The eldest of three sons – who clinched the top accolade, Businessman of the Year, at the 2024 Singapore Business Awards – returned during the Covid-19 pandemic to spend time with his ageing parents. His younger brothers Keith Wong, 49, and Kelvin Wong, 46, remained in Singapore to grow the business while Mr Wong was in China. Co-founder and chief operating officer Keith Wong leads the group's creative vision – from product design to store architecture to the overall brand aesthetic – while Kelvin Wong, who joined the family business later, heads bag design and technology. Reflecting on his almost 35-year journey in shoes, Mr Charles Wong credits the brand's success in international markets to a mix of good timing, good luck and a healthy risk appetite. After C&K was established in 1996 as a shoe label independent from the Ang Mo Kio store, Mr Charles Wong and Mr Keith Wong opened their first boutique in Amara Shopping Centre. Cash-strapped, they renovated it on a budget just shy of $50,000, and bought from their suppliers on credit. The Asian financial crisis struck soon after, but instead of getting spooked, they strode forward. Their father's friend, who operated and was scaling down the Giordano chain of clothing stores, offered to let them take over the lease of his unit in Causeway Point mall. A young Charles Wong in 2008. His brother and co-founder Keith, who leads the group's creative vision, has always been more media-shy. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO FILE Rent was steep – $20,000 a month, Mr Charles Wong recalls. 'I thought for a week if I should take the risk. The uncle said, 'If you don't jump, you'll never jump.' So, I took the first jump at a high rental store.' Their forecasted annual revenue of $60,000 ended up closer to $100,000. 'It was a good motivation factor, that the first risk we took was right.' Risky business Risk would turn out to be an enticing constant in the brothers' lives. During the financial crisis, an Indonesian expatriate customer proposed franchising the brand to Indonesia once the market improved. Then in his 20s, Mr Wong was apprehensive in view of Indonesia's unstable economy, fresh from a string of bombings. The customer goaded him into agreeing by asking: 'You served national service, right? So, why are you scared? You're military trained.' The Jakarta store, their first one overseas, was a huge success – and has led to 43 stores in Indonesia today. 'You never know what you don't know, so you just have to keep an open mind,' says Mr Wong. Charles & Keith's first Indonesia store in Mall Taman Anggrek opened in1998. PHOTO: CHARLES & KEITH In the 2000s, while other brands were eyeing expansion into China, the brothers chose the Middle East. You could chalk it down to Mr Wong's unusual business strategy: growing during a crisis. After successfully penetrating the Indonesian market, he sought 'the next crisis' – and set his sights on the region which had been going through the Iraq War from 2003 to 2011. 'Shop locations are more affordable; hiring talent is easier as people are retrenched,' he says. 'I feel newcomers have an equal opportunity as established players.' After that first encounter at C&K's boutique in Wisma Atria, the brothers continued to impress at every turn, Mr Teckchandani says. They were an early adopter in digital commerce too, launching a website in 2004. Mr Teckchandani adds: 'E-commerce was hardly talked about then. There were no And we saw Charles & Keith embarking on that journey – that showed their vision, the forward-thinking, the strategic direction. That was very critical for us, how they were looking at building it as a global brand.' An early iteration of Charles & Keith's first website. PHOTO: CHARLES & KEITH At the time, the Middle East's retail landscape was just beginning to evolve from its street shopping and souk culture to organised malls. The newly announced Mall of the Emirates was being primed as a game changer in Dubai retail, and Mr Teckchandani was on the lookout for fresh voices. Competition bloomed in the fast-fashion space – from Zara's parent company Inditex to H&M Group – but not yet in footwear. C&K, he says, addressed the need in the local market for a South-east Asian brand that could cut through the noise of the West – with its trend-led designs, accessibility in pricing and commercial sensibility. When Mall of the Emirates and the store opened in 2005, consumers responded. 'It fit into that space of affordable luxury – with the feeling and ambience of a luxury store, but the prices were wow for the consumers,' recalls Mr Teckchandani. 'After that, we didn't have to pitch to the landlords. It was the landlords running after us. And then came Dubai Mall, and the rest was history.' It was also in Dubai that C&K first launched bags, to answer Middle Eastern women's needs for accessories to show off personal style while dressed in a traditional abaya. On Mr Teckchandani's suggestion, they expanded the handbag category, which now makes up close to half of C&K's business and is arguably what it has become known for among the younger generation. Charles & Keith's first operational Dubai store at Al Manal Centre. It opened its Mall of the Emirates store in 2005. PHOTO: CHARLES & KEITH 'Crisis is not necessarily a bad thing,' reiterates Mr Wong. 'It's also a good time to enter a market when the pace may be a bit slower. We have to take advantage during the downtime.' Such was his mindset when the 2008 global financial crisis struck. He considered moving to the United States then to expand into the market, but felt it was too far away. So, he settled for China, which proved another winning move. Today, the market accounts for more than 50 per cent of C&K's business. Luxury's stamp of approval A healthy dose of star power propelled C&K to global recognition in the 2010s, but what retail observers believe cemented its position was the stamp of approval from the luxury world. In 2011, French luxury conglomerate LVMH's private equity arm L Capital Asia invested in a 20 per cent stake in the company, raising eyebrows among the fashion set. The headline-making investment gave C&K 'fashion legitimacy on a global level', says Mr Kenneth Goh, editor-in-chief of fashion publication Harper's Bazaar Singapore. Harper's Bazaar Singapore editor-in-chief Kenneth Goh wears the largest women's size in Charles & Keith boots. ST PHOTO: JAMIE KOH A string of celebrity red-carpet sightings followed, starting with Game Of Thrones (2011 to 2019) actress Maisie Williams rocking a C&K bag to the 2016 Emmy Awards. It was not long before the brand was spotted on A-listers including actress Nicole Kidman and singer-actress Jennifer Lopez. Collaborations with emerging cult fashion designers such as Danish designer Cecilie Bahnsen and Shanghai-based label Shushu/Tong, before they became 'it' brands, gave C&K further street cred. 'They've got the foresight to find that cool designer of the moment. It immediately injects cool into the brand, and you can't buy cool,' says Mr Goh, who wears C&K's largest women's shoe size, EU41, on business trips and to attend fashion shows abroad. 'They live and breathe and are submerged in social media. They communicate it via the people they dress, and it builds a community.' British actress Maisie Williams with the Evening Wristlet from Charles & Keith at the 2016 Bafta Tea Party (left) and Cecilie Bahnsen x Charles & Keith Upcycled Patchwork Anemone Mary Janes launched in 2020. PHOTOS: CHARLES & KEITH In 2025, C&K hit another industry milestone: debuting on the Met Gala red carpet. Its shoes were spotted on Colombian pop star Shakira and American singer-actress Nicole Scherzinger – another coup for Singapore, says Mr Goh. Looking ahead For all its successes, C&K has not forgotten its roots. 'We're very fortunate to be in this country, where Singapore has a great brand name,' Mr Wong says, noting that the Singapore branding set a high standard for customers in the region when C&K first embarked on international expansion. Its next move is building a product that can cut across all markets simultaneously. 'We like the Apple model – of lesser designs for the whole world,' he quips. No longer chasing numbers, he adds modestly: 'Having the right talent and mindset brings us a longer way than just setting high growth targets.' Back in Singapore to be closer to family, Mr Charles Wong is no longer chasing numbers. Instead, he wants to focus on designing quality products and experiences. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY What continues to impress Mr Teckchandani, who plans to open up to 115 new C&K stores in the Middle East in the next three to five years, is how grounded the brothers have stayed. He once witnessed them patrolling a mall in Dubai after operating hours to check on their store and scope out the competition. 'We work with 85-odd brands, but I have not seen any founder who has built such a large business, walking humbly in malls at midnight to see what are the latest trends in the market and the wants of the consumer,' he says. 'The responsiveness, dedicating years to learn and adapt, and the humble attitude are the secret recipe for their success.'
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Okinawa a reluctant host for US troops 80 years after WWII
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Mr Takemasa Kinjo looking on at the construction site of the new Henoko military base for US forces near his residence in Nago city, Okinawa Prefecture. Henoko, Japan - Okinawa resident Hiromasa Iha can still recall the screams of his classmates and teachers after a US military jet crashed into his elementary school, killing 18 people more than six decades ago. As people globally commemorate the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the 72-year-old retired businessman is among many residents who oppose the American troops stationed on their island ever since. He joins dozens of islanders in near-daily protests against the US forces. The United States has around 54,000 military personnel stationed in Japan, mostly on Okinawa, and a string of incidents over the years, including sexual assault cases, have angered residents. 'For us, these crimes and accidents are not someone else's business, and we feel a pressing unease that we can't predict when these things may happen again,' he told AFP, recalling the 1959 school incident. 'We want the bases to go.' The island region, a subtropical paradise with a huge tourism industry, hosts 70 per cent of all American bases in Japan and serves as a key US outpost to monitor China, the Taiwan Strait and the Korean peninsula. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia India, Singapore ministers discuss deeper tie-ups in digitalisation, skills, industrial parks Business More seniors remain employed after retirement and re-employment ages raised in 2022: MOM study Singapore To Vers or not to Vers: How will this scheme affect HDB prices? Asia Malaysian MP Rafizi says his son was jabbed with syringe in planned attack, threatened with Aids Singapore askST: Will assets seized in $3b money laundering case be sold at public auctions? Singapore Woman, 68, charged over assaulting maid with scissors and nail clipper Business StarHub first-half profit falls 41.7% to $47.9m; telco eyes 'more aggressive stance' amid competition Singapore From quiet introvert to self-confident student: How this vulnerable, shy teen gets help to develop and discover her strength The bloody Battle of Okinawa near the end of the war led to the US occupation of the island until 1972, during which troops seized private land in Okinawa to expand their presence in what is locally known as a 'bayonet and bulldozer' campaign. During the Cold War, US troops in Okinawa were seen by Washington as a deterrent against the spread of communism. Now, both Tokyo and Washington stress the strategic importance of Okinawa in the face of China's territorial ambitions. But residents have for years voiced their fury over a spate of crimes and accidents involving American soldiers and base personnel. In 2024 alone, Okinawa police detained 80 people connected to the base – such as US soldiers or military contractors – including seven for severely violent crimes. Okinawa erupted in anger after a 1995 gang rape of a 12-year-old girl by three US Marines. In August 2004, a Marine helicopter crashed at a university in Okinawa, causing no injuries but amplifying fears of accidents. In April 2016, a former Marine, who was working as a military contractor in Okinawa, raped and killed a 20-year-old woman. And as recently as July, a senior Marine officer visited the Okinawa government to apologise after a Marine was convicted of sexually assaulting a woman. 'Truly scary' Opinion polls in Okinawa have historically shown that the majority of residents believe the rest of Japan must carry its fair share of the load when it comes to hosting the US military. Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki routinely points out the island's 'excessive burden', impacting the daily lives of residents. But repeated calls on authorities to prevent crimes by US soldiers have fallen largely on deaf ears, said Ms Junko Iraha, the chairwoman of a coalition of women's groups in Okinawa. 'It's not that we don't like American people. We are saying, please do something about the bases,' she said. When Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972, residents expected that US bases would be spread across Japan – a vision that never came true, she added. Recent polls suggest growing resignation among the Okinawan public. In a 2023 survey, nearly 40 per cent of Okinawan survey participants said the anti-US base movement was powerless to change Tokyo's policy. But many Okinawan residents say they live in fear of crimes by American soldiers, with victims still trying to process their grief. Mr Takemasa Kinjo, 68, was a high school student when his mother was killed by a Marine in 1974 with a brick at their home where she operated a small bar. 'It is truly scary if you think crimes can happen in your neighbourhood,' he said. Mr Takemasa Kinjo was a high school student when his mother was killed by a US Marine in 1974. PHOTO: AFP He also joined a recent protest at a Marine base that is being expanded into a secluded bay where dugongs and other protected species live. He believes Okinawa – where base-related income accounts for just over 5 per cent of its economy – can thrive thanks to tourism alone, with an increasing number of holidaymakers drawn to the area's turquoise bays and coral reefs. 'There should be no base on Okinawa,' he said. 'We don't need new military facilities.' Mr Takemasa Kinjo holding a placard reading 'Opposition to War' outside his residence in Nago city, Okinawa Prefecture. PHOTO: AFP Mr Iha, whose elementary school was destroyed by a US jet, feels the need to explain to future generations what happened – and warn them it could happen again. At the time of the crash, which also left more than 200 people injured, 'everyone thought another war was starting', he recalled. Now, 'every day, military jets fly over our houses, and we see helicopters making emergency landings', he said. 'This is not something that only belongs in the past. This can happen again anytime.' AFP
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
As Trump pushes international students away, Asian schools scoop them up
Yonsei University campus in Seoul, South Korea. The country wants to have 300,000 international students by 2027. SEOUL – For Mr Jess Concepcion, a microbiology student from the Philippines, obtaining a doctorate from a university in the United States had been a dream. It was where most of his academic mentors had studied and done research, and he wanted to follow in their footsteps. But when the United States, under President Donald Trump, started pausing visa interviews during peak season this spring, threatening to deport international students for political speech and slashing funding for academic research, he quickly changed plans. Applications for doctoral programmes take years and have to be tailored to specific schools, so he is aiming for programmes in Switzerland and Singapore instead. 'That uncertainty made me stop in my tracks and choose another country,' Mr Concepcion, 24, said. 'Immigration policy is quite restrictive, and I'm on a different side of the world. So living in that kind of instability that far away isn't healthy for me.' It's a quandary facing many young people around the world. According to the United Nations, 6.9 million people studied outside their home country in 2022. The United States has long attracted the most foreign students, 1.1 million in the 2023-24 academic year. It's too soon to know whether more foreign students will choose not to attend US schools. But warning signs abound. Major international education search platforms, including IDP and Keystone Education Group, have detected a marked decline in student interest in American programmes. Among academic administrators polled by the Institute for International Education this spring, more than usual reported drops in international applications for the coming year. These are not the first signs that American higher education is losing its dominant position. For years, countries in Asia have been strengthening their universities and marketing them to students around the world. With more appealing alternatives, the Trump administration's hostile stance may hasten the decline in US higher education preeminence. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Asia India, Singapore ministers discuss deeper tie-ups in digitalisation, skills, industrial parks Business More seniors remain employed after retirement and re-employment ages raised in 2022: MOM study Singapore To Vers or not to Vers: How will this scheme affect HDB prices? Asia Malaysian MP Rafizi says his son was jabbed with syringe in planned attack, threatened with Aids Singapore askST: Will assets seized in $3b money laundering case be sold at public auctions? 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PHOTO: NYTIMES Asia steps up For decades, in the English-speaking world, Oxford and Cambridge in Britain, the Ivy League in the United States, and other name-brand universities in Australia and Canada tended to top application checklists. Gradually, schools in China, Japan, Taiwan and Singapore started showing up in annual rankings of the top universities – with lower price tags. Governments dispatched representatives to college fairs and set goals for the number of students they wanted to bring in every year. So when Mr Trump, soon after starting his second term, began pushing international students away, Asian nations started welcoming students who couldn't continue their studies at American schools. Take South Korea, where Mr Concepcion went for his master's degree after winning a scholarship from the South Korean government that covered living expenses and tuition. He added a year of mandatory language study and enrolled at Korea University in Seoul, where his programme starts in earnest this fall. In the spring, Korea University was among several institutions to offer relief measures as the US government began cancelling some student visas and terminating funding programmes. Another South Korean school, Yonsei University, will open rolling admissions for undergraduate transfers year round starting in 2026 and is planning a customised visiting programme for students whose coursework is interrupted in the United States. Mr Trump has added urgency to such plans, but this effort has been underway in Asia for decades. South Korea has for years sent students to other countries, while attracting few from overseas. In the early 2000s, leaders started to think of that imbalance as a kind of trade deficit and set out to boost their international recruitment. They took guidance from a similar effort in Japan, which had about 337,000 foreign students in 2024 and is aiming for 400,000 by 2033. South Korea's latest target was set in 2023: 300,000 international students by 2027. For 2026, Seoul was named the top city for international students in the closely followed Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings. Early on, the South Korean government's work was intended to buoy flagging schools in smaller towns, where low birthrates and emigration to larger cities have shrunk classes of high school graduates. Foreign students are also not subject to tuition caps that apply to domestic students, creating a new revenue stream to keep universities afloat. Ms Shin Mee-kyung, the director of educational globalisation for South Korea's Ministry of Education, said that at first those foreign students were generally expected to return home after their studies. More recently, officials have started to see foreign students as an answer to the nation's labour shortage as well. Seoul established a support centre to help foreign students get jobs, and visa policies have been loosened to help them work after graduation. 'Now we are very interested in how we help them decide to stay here,' she said. For 2026, Seoul was named the top city for international students in the closely followed Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings. PHOTO: TINA HSU/NYTIMES There are about 70,000 students in South Korea from China and 50,000 from Vietnam. Myanmar and Nepal send thousands each year. For South Korean companies, the students offer an opportunity: potential hires who could help expand the business into their home countries, or manage overseas factories. Hyundai, for example, makes many of its cars in Vietnam and is trying to sell them in Singapore. Mr Kyle Guadana is a Singaporean student studying at Yonsei University, where he leads the Foreign Student Union. He said Hyundai, among other companies, had reached out directly. 'They are looking for foreigners who will be able to work with them,' Mr Gaudana, 24, said. 'They are specifically targeting South-east Asian students, because they are trying to expand their bases here.' The recruiting drive has had some complications, however. To hit its targets, the government has accepted a wider range of language proficiency tests and lowered the minimum bank balance required to obtain a visa. It has also increased the number of hours students can work in a week. Some students have used university enrollment primarily as a way to earn money in South Korea, which is not otherwise easy to do. But the larger challenge may be making sure that those who come primarily to study are able to work in South Korea when they graduate – and that they want to stay. Ms Keity Rose Mendes, 21, grew up in Mozambique and received the same scholarship granted to Mr Concepcion, studying industrial engineering at Seoul National University. She chose South Korea for its safety and because she wanted to learn about its manufacturing techniques. But after three years of classes, she felt that collaboration wasn't valued and that foreign students weren't well integrated. 'A lot of them, especially non-Asian international students, just want to finish their studies and leave,' said Ms Mendes, who is the president of the school's International Student Association. 'I wish that the same effort that they're putting into bringing international students, they also tried to put into creating facilities to maintain them here.' Ms Keity Rose Mendes, who is studying industrial engineering at Seoul National University, chose South Korea for its safety. PHOTO: TINA HSU/NYTIMES Hedging their bets For millions of students deciding where to study, the United States is still the leading destination. Degrees from top American universities command societal respect – and lucrative job offers – in countries like South Korea. But even that shine has been dulled by new obstacles since Trump took office, said Mr Pierre Huguet, the CEO of the global admissions consulting firm H&C Education. 'Many saw the US as offering more freedom and an escape from rigid social pressures in Korea,' he said. 'Now they fear visa revocations, invasive online presence reviews and a chilled campus climate, which is the opposite of what they were hoping for.' Mr Huguet said his clients were focusing on Britain and Australia. The number of South Korean students studying abroad overall has been dropping as the country's own universities climb the rankings. And the United States isn't the only developed country to push back against international students. Canada and Australia limited international student visas in 2024, while Britain raised visa fees and was contemplating shortening postgraduate work visas. 'No country is being extremely welcoming at this stage,' said Mr Yash Sharma, who runs an admissions consultancy called Longshore Education focused on the market in India. 'Everywhere in the English-speaking world there is anti-immigration sentiment going around.' NYTIMES
