By Tan Wei Lin

Copyright channelnewsasia

The move is also intended to build a sense of community, a spirit that had always been at the core of the brand and can be seen in how it regularly partners with like-minded local businesses from other industries. The most prominent example among these is the cafe Plain Vanilla, which has been a fixture at the In Good Company boutique in Ion Orchard since 2015. More recently, the store housed pop-ups by fashion accessory brand Days of Ever and cosmetics brand Romi Beauty.

“We’ve always viewed shopping at our store as a lifestyle brand experience – way before this concept became popular in recent years. We want to keep the customer in the store for as long as possible – whether they buy or not is not important, what’s valuable is their desire to stay here,” said Teo.

Having started In Good Company online, the founders now see both e-commerce and its brick-and-mortar spaces as equally important parts of the business. The website has allowed them to build a customer base overseas, while the store not only serves as a physical point of sales, but also a reinforcement of the brand’s identity.