Our German founders family looks back at over 130 years of family tradition in manufacturing, retail, wholesale and international trade. His great grandparents on one side manufacturing and trading in the East German city of Guben, today a German Polish border city of 2 countries split by the Neiße river. During its heyday Guben was a prominent textile and the foremost headwear manufacturing city in the world, which continued throughout the GDR times. Sadly the last headwear production in Guben closed in 1999 not being able to compete with world market trade prices.

On other side of the family Heinrich Doeringer, a master bookbinder, started in a stationary and shortly after photographic business in 1888. From a single shop in the German city of Oberursel continued by their mother and father after the war, the sons Heinz-Otto and Georg Doeringer expanded both business fields substantially and split the business in 1982, whilst our founders family continued in the photographic and audio-visual business. This included purchasing trips to the Far East in the 70s leading to become the first company to import and distribute SONY broadcast systems in Europe. Additionally, frequent purchasing trips for the booming photographic industry working both directly with brands in Japan and respected trading businesses in Hong Kong such as Jebsen, which had a stronghold in the photographic equipment supply business. His photo retail partners’ expertise made Heinz-Otto Doeringer essential in the growth of Ringfoto Group (today UIG) to where it is today, as Head of Finance in the Board of Directors during its major growth years. His model of making the shop owners the owners of the purchasing group is a benchmark since then followed by other successful buying groups in the independent retail sectors. The businesses interest in Germany were sold and closed out in the early 21st century, as both our founder and his brother moved overseas to pursue their own careers outside of the family business.

Mr. Tobi Doeringer the founder of SinoGo Limited ran his own successful real estate and retail marketing business in Germany, before moving to Hong Kong in 1997 full time to follow the traditions of his forefathers, seeing the opportunity of China opening to the world. He started to work and today still sits on the Board of Directors of a listed manufacturer in cut and sew products. In addition he heads his diversified Holding Vabella Limited, which has interests in diverse businesses around the world. In 2020 SinoGo opened a new office in the ‘Heimat’ of Mr. Doeringer under the supervision of the 5th generation Ms. Valerie Doeringer, who is currently studying Marketing Management at a prestigious University in the United Kingdom.