There’s a market for bringing ideas to IRL products.
A Kickstarter retail store in Singapore barely opened a few months ago back in September 2016, and it has already proven to be so popular that another one is opening this month.
We The People opened their first store in Orchard Central and met with resounding success. Seven months later, their second outlet is opening at Millenia Walk this Saturday, 25 March.
On Kickstarter, a crowdfunding platform for creative projects, the ideas are boundless and the designs are ingenious. From the most portable electric skateboards to the most functional bags, some campaigns can get hundreds of thousands and even millions of backers to help bring their ideas to life — but it’s only normal that many people want a preview of the actual product before throwing money at it.
The We The People physical stores bring in those products, allowing consumers to handle and explore them before buying. The concept is probably the first of its kind, showing that there’s a market for bringing ideas to IRL products. All projects available in store have already hit their funding goals, thus there would be no chance of non-fulfilment. As We The People says, “Say goodbye to receiving products from Kickstarter that don’t ‘function-as-advertised’.”
The team has also hosted some campaign owners like Hung Yi of Arc Boards (portable electric skateboards), Nison of Talking Toes (inspirational socks) and Brian of Hydra (automated indoor plant care system), allowing potential backers to interact with them and get on board with their campaigns.
Source (From left to right: Hung Yi of Arc Boards, Nison of Talking Toes, Joel & Ryan of We The People & Brian of Hydra)
In a place like Orchard Central with exorbitant rental rates, they’re not only not struggling but are thriving. They have had many loyal customers as well as regular roadshows and pop-ups to help with sales and branding. Some who chance upon their store and don’t know about Kickstarter just think it’s a really cool store.
The Second Outlet
The Millenia Walk outlet is apparently 2,000 sq ft large with a slightly different concept from the Orchard Central one. Besides the retail section, the Millenia Walk outlet also has a workshop area, a space for designers, and a cafe.
In an interview with Vulcan Post, We The People said they expanded so quickly because they were getting more and more new brands every month. They started with 15 brands, and now have well over 50.
The cafe would be a space that customers can use Kickstarter coffee products like Cafflano Klassic, Cafflano Kompact, Hyperchiller and more — which are very popular at our caffeine-loving city — to brew their own drink. They would be free to use with purchase of beans.
The workshop and speaker space would be an area for public sharing sessions. Guest speakers can share about what goes into launching a Kickstarter campaign like product design, growth hacks, et cetera. The team said that the workshop is to “serve to motivate and empower individuals to start creating”.
The designer space is for aspiring entrepreneurs to share their ideas with the public and gain feedback from them. They can market and refine their product, get backing from them and launch. They will also have a “live-funding” at the premises, We The People once again bridging the online with offline.
The Kickstarter Market In Singapore
The success of Kickstarter shows that there is a lot of potential for creativity and entrepreneurship in Singapore. The crowdfunding platform announced their launch in Singapore and Hong Kong just recently in August 2016, after receiving a large amount of passionate backers for their products — Singaporean backers are the most in Asia! In fact, we are in top ten of countries with the most backers in the world back in 2014.
Previously, you needed a business bank account in the United States of America, or any of previously available countries, to start your own Kickstarter campaign. After seeing such ardent supporters in Singapore, it only made sense for Kickstarter to allow those in Singapore to become creators too. And yes, it definitely is ‘kick-starting’ very quickly here.
We The People have also announced news of expansion for a third outlet as well as overseas outlets in Taiwan and Jarkarta. If you haven’t already checked out their stores, they will be offering 10% storewide during their store launch at Millenia Walk on 25th March, so let’s head down to give them the support!
