Crown Worldwide Group

The Crown Worldwide Group, headquartered in Hong Kong, provides transportation, relocation services, logistics and storage services from offices in nearly 60 countries. Services include international and domestic household goods shipments, global mobility, departure and destination services, fine arts transportation, records management, freight forwarding, third-party distribution, wine storage, and specialized logistics services.

Company overview


In 2012, Crown Worldwide Group generated revenue of approximately US$828 million, owned assets of $466 million and owned properties valuing $462 million.

Operating more than 9.5 million square feet of warehouse space, one of the company’s principal strategies is to continuously invest in new facilities. The Group comprises the following brands:

Crown Fine Art Crown Logistics Crown Records Management Crown Relocations Crown Wine Cellars Crown World Mobility

History


In 1965, American James E. Thompson (Jim Thompson) (then residing in Yokohama, Japan), recognized the need for an international moving service, so established Crown Worldwide Group. With US $1,000 he established Transport Services International (as it was then known) in Yokohama with one office.

In 1970, the company expanded into Hong Kong and then into Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and other Asia Pacific locations. In 1975, Transport Services International became Crown Pacific, and by the early 1980s, was firmly established in Asia. As a result of increased mobility of the global population, further growth and offices were established across America, Australasia, and Europe. These developments accompanied a new company name, Crown Worldwide Group.

Thompson is the founder, Chairman and Chief Executive. He graduated from San Jose State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering. He traveled to Asia shortly after graduation and has lived in Japan and Hong Kong ever since. Thompson is a U.S. citizen and a permanent resident of Hong Kong.

"Crowning moments"
Having previously provided transportation of two expositions for the Louvre Museum, "Le Christ mort" and "Le sacre de Napoleon." Crown Fine Art handled the relocation of the Mona Lisa in 2005.

The museum curator sought professional help removing the painting to change the frame and re-hang it. The Crown Fine Art team reported that although the Mona Lisa is a small painting, it is so well secured that it is actually heavy.

In April 2007, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the establishment of the Hong Kong SAR Government, China presented two young pandas to Hong Kong. Crown Relocations was involved in transporting the pandas to their new home in Ocean Park Hong Kong, a marine-based theme park located on the southern side of Hong Kong Island. The giant pandas arrived on 26 April 2007, and were unveiled to the public on 1 July, the 10th anniversary of the Hong Kong SAR government.



Crown Wine Cellars is a division offering wine storage and handling. The facility, located in a park-like setting in Shouson Hill, a suburb on Hong Kong Island, consists of two underground bunkers built by the British during World War II. Crown converted the bunkers and opened a private members' club house featuring six underground wine cellars.

Brands
Crown Fine Art - provides secure transportation, storage, installation and de-installation services.

Crown Records Management - manages secure archiving and retrieval of information in physical and electronic format, helping to maximize the value of corporate memory.

Crown Relocations - provides transportation, destination and immigration services, as well as employee and family support, to assist people relocating internationally or domestically.

Crown Wine Cellars - offers wine storage and handling at facilities in Hong Kong and mainland China. The Hong Kong facility, located in a park-like setting in Shouson Hill, a suburb on Hong Kong Island, consists of two underground bunkers built by the British during World War II. Crown converted the bunkers and opened a private members' clubhouse featuring six underground wine cellars.

Crown World Mobility – provides strategic assignment management to corporations operating a globally mobile workforce.

Further divisions encompass more conventional logistics services including project management of oil and gas equipment, hotel refurbishments, and warehousing and distribution of luxury goods.

Marques
Generally in 1970, commercial trucks in Hong Kong were red and black, so Crown Pacific adopted these colors, featuring on the company business cards. Over time, more emphasis was placed on the red and the crown symbol was always visible on the logo.

Today, the company uses the Crown name and logo, with the tag of its various services.

Crown Wine Cellars
In 2002, Jim Thompson, realized that there were no wine cellars in Asia. He made a proposal, to the Hong Kong Government to convert the Central Ordnance Munitions Depot into a commercial wine cellar, with a private members clubhouse and conservatory. After negotiating with 22 government departments and signing a seven-year lease, Crown Worldwide Group invested HKD 30 million (US$3.8 million), and the Crown Wine Cellars opened in 2003.

The Hong Kong wine cellars occupy four of 12 original pairs of bunkers. The clubhouse has three reception areas, two of which are located approximately twenty meters underground, can accommodate more than 100 people for sit-down dinner events and more than 200 people for private cocktails functions. The club has approximately 700 members as at October 2009. The UNESCO presented an Award of Merit to Little Hong Kong in the year 2007.

Crown Wine Cellars has subsequently opened facilities in Mainland China.

Crown Worldwide celebrates its 50th anniversary
On February 4, 2015, Crown Worldwide celebrated its 50th anniversary. To commemorate the anniversary, Jim Thompson traveled to Yokohama, Japan, to thank the Mayor of Yokohama, Fumiko Hayashi, and the city for hosting the company for half a century.

Celebrations took place around the Crown world, starting in New Zealand and finishing in Hawaii. As part of the celebrations, 38 branches took part in a competition to form the perfect “50”. Dubai were crowned the winners.

So what does Jim Thompson consider to be the likely future for his company? “The future is very bright, because we’re stable and so financially secure and have a solid management team to continue to take the company forward. It’s a brand people trust, which has for 50 years upheld important values.”