t amplifying the brand’s mission to celebrate and uplift Asian women. “We wanted to amplify this from a visual representation standpoint, and we wanted to showcase that our clothing is ready to go live, and not just ready to wear, so that was really the whole genesis around it,” she told Inside Retail. New beginnings Song went on to say that the brand has been around for 14 years, and the management team felt it was time to modernise the brand with a more contemporary outlook and give it a more elevated and sophisticated tone in the marketplace. “We wanted to pay homage to our Singaporean heritage as well, as we are a proudly home-grown Singaporean brand, too,” she said. The brand is also challenging the stereotype of the ‘perfect Asian woman’ by taking on a sassier tone of voice.  This change will be reflected across the brand’s omnichannel platforms starting with a revamped website and through various physical stores in key markets namely Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong.  The very first brand store that has been fully rebranded is Malaysia’s largest flagship store located in Tun Razak Exchange Mall, Kuala Lumpur. A revamped assortment strategy The brand is introducing a change in its assortment strategy, and Song noted that the brand is reducing its overall number of styles by 60 per cent. “Our core customer is the woman in her 30s to 40s, and she is not just looking for the next runway trend, she wants products with versatility, functionality and mileage [out of her clothes],” she said. Song also said that consumers are becoming more prudent in their spending habits, so this was the right time for the brand to shift to more products that embody these values. “If we looked at our historical performance, the 80/20 rule still holds true. Twenty per cent of our products contribute to 80 per cent of our sales. This in turn allows our design and product development team to focus on the customer experience,” she added. Focusing on the customer The brand is using over 19 years of customer data, combined with machine learning and artificial intelligence, to streamline its assortment into three key lines: signatures, staples and capsule collections. “We’re direct to consumers, we own all the selling channels and touchpoints, be it the website or our stores. Even on social media, we are constantly monitoring the pulse of our consumers, so this gives us an insight to provide curated and relevant assortments for our target audiences,” Song said. She went on to say that in the brand’s bricks-and-mortar stores, every single transaction is tied to a unified customer ID, so the brand can track their online and offline purchases, so that there is full visibility of omnichannel purchases.  This gives the brand more intelligence to make current product recommendations on its website for consumers. This intelligence is also funnelled into its marketing channels, whether via email or through social media. Managing the shift Reducing the number of styles by 60 per cent has been a big shift for the brand. It required a new mindset around how the brand could better mix and match elements and a greater focus on how it could style products for different outfits and looks. “From an inventory management perspective, this allows us to be more efficient as a brand because it’s a core-based business model. Products have a longer product life cycle, and we can sell them on the website and in stores for longer. So, we have more control of our inventory,” she explained. Song reiterated that the brand is not resting on its laurels. The brand is continuously improving its products, enhancing quality control, and also figuring out how to make its offerings more trans-seasonal for customers in markets like Hong Kong and the US. Aggressive expansion “We have got aggressive expansion plans. There will be a store opening in Tampines, Singapore, by the middle of this year. There will also be a pop-up store coming up in Hong Kong. Our first store in the Philippines, in metro Manila is also coming soon,” she pointed out. Song said the brand has noticed strong traction in the Philippines via social media channels such as Instagram and through key opinion leaders as well as customers. “The market has just been waiting for this moment, and it’s the perfect time to open a bricks-and-mortar presence in the Philippines. We will be able to solidify our presence in this marketplace and also cater to our customers via on-ground interactions such as events,” she concluded.