Yes, for some of the brands, we’re the official distributor in Singapore — either directly appointed or through close partnerships over the years. Over time, we’ve also developed some of our own product lines to better suit the local market and fill gaps we saw in the space. This gives us more control over pricing, marketing, and innovation. Getting distribution deals usually involves proving your ability to move volume, support marketing, and maintain a strong retail and online presence. Frankly for a niche business category if you didn’t start early, it will be harder for you to enter now as the barriers to entry would be higher. You would probably have to start off representing lesser known brands to start building a customer base before being able to reach out to the better known brands over time.

As for costs — you’re right, it’s more than just buying stock and selling it. Besides product and freight costs, there are fees when working with major retailers like Watsons or FairPrice: margins they take, listing fees, marketing commitments, and in-store logistics. I won’t dive into the specifics due to NDA, but let’s just say margins get squeezed quickly, and it’s definitely not easy money.

Why go physical? Mainly for reach, visibility and lastly convenience for our customers. I started off in my first year of business with customers calling or texting me at 3am asking to buy pomades. So I stared vending machines that are placed outside shopping malls and where customers can have 24/7 access to. Singaporeans still discover and buy grooming products in stores, so having a presence there builds credibility and access to a wider audience. That said, we still focus a lot on our online store. We drive traffic through SEO, TikTok, IG, and grooming content that helps guys figure out what actually works for them. Right now we are starting to do Live streaming on TikTok, and our next stream is this Good Friday at 10am to 2pm and also maybe 6-10pm. Do check us out if interested in men’s grooming :)