Overcoming challenges, pandemic: How home-grown fashion brand finds success abroad

In Good Company, established in 2013 by four friends and former colleagues, includes co-founders Kane Tan (left) and Sven Tan. PHOTOS: IN GOOD COMPANY

Their story is well-known in fashion circles. The founders of In Good Company are four friends who used to work together as colleagues on another local label. They enjoyed one another’s company so much they decided to strike out on their own, launching their fashion brand in 2013.

“We’ve always felt comfortable working alongside together. In Good Company seemed like a good name to also inspire collaborations between like-minded creatives and local enterprises,” shares Ms Jaclyn Teo, referring to three other co-founders Sven Tan, Kane Tan and Juliene Aw.

Ms Teo shares that the brand had focused on an e-commerce model in its early years to keep operating costs low. “The high rentals that come with venues that experience good footfall are a big risk for any new business, so we decided not to open a physical store at the beginning,” explains the brand’s managing director.

With its clean-cut, minimalist and easy to mix-and-match staples, the brand quickly amassed a following. Ms Teo says: “As our collection grew and our online sales stabilised, we invested our resources in establishing a physical store presence.”

In Good Company opened its first physical store in 2015 at a prime location – Ion Orchard. Two other brick-and-mortar stores opened in Marina Bay Sands and Jewel Changi in 2017 and 2019 respectively, and these leases were not renewed during the pandemic period. Despite the challenges posed by Covid-19, In Good Company emerged stronger from the crisis, thanks to its familiarity and headstart with the e-commerce business model.

“Digital transformation was challenging at the beginning but we were thankful that we didn’t have to start from ground zero during the pandemic. Our main focus was on how to maintain and adapt quickly to the changing business climate,” says Ms Teo.

During that period, the brand conducted customer surveys to understand the changing shopping behaviours and launched new collections to cater to the trend of people working from home.

Lesser known, however, is how local bank UOB supported and continues to support the brand through its ups and downs. Ms Teo adds that her team chose the bank for its market leadership and expertise in assisting start-ups and small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in growing and scaling their operations.

“UOB has been our strategic partner through both good and challenging times in the last decade, easing our access to financing and digital transformation tools as we work continually towards our growth ambitions,” says Ms Teo. For instance, she shares that the support provided, which included a close understanding of her business needs and access to working capital funds from UOB, was a great help to the company when it was at the start-up stage.

Together with grants from government agency partners, a working capital loan from UOB made it possible for In Good Company to realise its concept store at Ion Orchard. Today, the spacious 3,300 sq ft flagship store provides shoppers with a different kind of retail experience where they can browse the collections and relax over coffee and pastries.

In Good Company is known for its clean-cut, minimalist designs and versatile staples. PHOTO: IN GOOD COMPANY

Over the years, the bank has proven to be an invaluable partner for the fashion brand with its innovative digital tools and customised financial solutions for SMEs.

Ms Teo found the UOB SME app the most useful during the pandemic, as the app provides insights into her company’s cash flow and cash position for the last six months through an interactive dashboard, giving her team a good overview of their liquidity. Additionally, SMEs can apply for loans, sign up for educational and networking events, access insight articles, set personalised foreign currency watchlists and alerts, and book preferred forex rates via the app.

Beyond the UOB SME app, UOB’s SME customers can also leverage UOB BizSmart, a comprehensive suite of digital business management solutions. These solutions span accounting, human resources and payroll, point-of-sale transactions and payments, marketing, e-commerce, cybersecurity and logistics needs. They enable SMEs to pursue digital transformation easily and, in turn, achieve operational efficiency and growth in their business operations.

In Singapore, over one in two businesses¹ have achieved success with digitalisation, with payroll, accounting and sales as top key processes for transformation. With this success, companies are looking to banks and financial institutions for easier funding access and robust training programmes to facilitate their digital journey.

As In Good Company enters its second decade in business, having marked its 10th anniversary in 2023, its founders have their sights set on replicating their concept store overseas, targeting key cities in China, Australia, Europe and the United States. Its website already offers shipping to more than 45 markets worldwide.

“The team envisions the brand with a few flagship or concept stores established in key cities, alongside the ability to scale and replicate our click-and-mortar stores internationally,” says Ms Teo.

She adds that her team looks forward to working further with UOB on its internationalisation efforts through securing additional funding and establishing connections with wholesalers and distributors in key markets served by the bank.

“As we expand In Good Company, we will continue to keep pace with the fast-changing business environment by partnering UOB closely to connect to the opportunities in Asean and Greater China,” she says.

From easily opening a business account to enjoying savings on transactions and earning cashback, UOB helps SMEs streamline operations and stay ahead. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Having evolved from entrepreneurial roots and honed its expertise in serving SMEs for nearly nine decades, UOB demonstrates a deep understanding of SMEs and family-led businesses.

Throughout its history, the bank has successfully navigated crises spanning generations, including the Asian Financial Crisis and, more recently, the Covid-19 pandemic and challenging business headwinds.

In a proactive step taken in February 2020, before any official government announcements, UOB became the first bank to pledge S$3 billion in financial assistance to Singapore companies affected by Covid-19. By the end of 2021, UOB had supported over 20,000 SMEs, including In Good Company, during the pandemic.

Mr Paul Kan, country head, Business Banking Singapore at UOB, highlights the bank’s commitment to supporting SMEs as they navigate ongoing challenges such as high inflation and rising costs.

He says: “The UOB Business Outlook Study 2024 indicates that managing costs will continue to be a top priority for businesses. SMEs are also increasingly looking for support with growth expansion, seeking assistance with outreach to new customer bases and increasing digital adoption to capture growth opportunities.

“As the One Bank for ASEAN banking both big and small companies, we connect businesses to our extensive network and industry partners to accelerate their growth ambitions. Our suite of digital solutions provides them access to financing more seamlessly as well as non-financing solutions that enhance business efficiency. This is how we partner our customers to develop long-term resilience.”

The bank’s dedication to the business community has been recognised with external industry accolades. UOB’s commitment to local SMEs was further established recently when the bank was awarded the World’s Best Bank for SMEs, Asia’s Best Bank for SMEs and Singapore’s Best Bank for SMEs by the Euromoney Awards for Excellence 2024. In addition, the bank has been awarded the Best SME Bank in South-East Asia 2024 by The Digital Banker and it was also recognised as Best SME Bank in Asia-Pacific seven times by The Asian Banker.