Leave your shopping bags at home and hook up with Kailin & Summer online.
WITH the increasing popularity of online retail businesses, in-store shopping may soon become obsolete. Toys, clothes, books, accessories – you name it, they are available online. Why go out in the heat, fight for parking, wrestle your way through the throng of mall rats and wait for hours for a fitting when you can shop online? You can also compare prices of online retailers with a cup of coffee or lager by your side, while you watch your favourite episode of The Closer.
Perhaps, to say shopping is obsolete may be pushing it a bit but then, online retail is definitely picking up speed the world over. IMRG, a membership community for the e-retail industry, noted a 34% increase in online shopping last year and reported that industry insiders are predicting that by 2016 the online fashion business will account for 13% of the fashion market with a worth of close to £6bil (RM35bil).
Pride and joy: Ng Li Yen proudly stands behind Kaitlin & Summer. For close friends Ng Li Yen and Erin Tan, both 26, starting up an online retail site – Kaitlin & Summer – was not just a shrewd business move. It was the fulfilment of a dream and manifestation of a passion.
“I had been thinking about starting an online retail business since I was in college but didn’t have the time. After graduating, like all parents, mine expected me to get a ‘proper’ job in a bank or something. Not open a boutique. Once I started working, well, I just got caught up with charting a career ... so it never really happened.
“Then, last New Year’s Eve, I took a look at my life and realised that all I could remember about the last five years was working! That’s not how I want my life to be. I shared my idea (of starting an online retail site) with Erin and that was how it started. Six months later, Kaitlin & Summer was born,” says Ng, adding that the business capital came entirely from their personal savings.
Echoes Tan, who lives in Singapore, “Starting my own fashion business has always been my personal dream. But, I didn’t dare do it because of the high financial costs. I was also afraid to go into it alone. When Li Yen told me of her idea, both my concerns were halved!”
Starting up shop online has numerous advantages – you don’t have to leave a place, working hours are more flexible and the clientele list can span the globe.
“I believe that online shopping is the way forward. Online shopping has been around for a very long time and people are becoming even more dependent on the Internet – for paying bills, grocery shopping and even ordering food,” says Tan.
To set up their business, Tan and Ng gave up their jobs – they were in public relations and advertising respectively before.
Hip and happening: Kaitlin & Summer has a line of funky accessories for the girl who likes to party. “I chose to take time off from work to concentrate on building Kaitlin & Summer and it is a full time job now,” says Tan.
Ng and Tan met about eight years ago at a church camp and found that they had a lot in common – like fashion – and became fast friends. The two have varying styles – Ng prefers feminine florals, vintage and high street fashion – while Tan is a jeans and T-shirt kind of gal who likes simple lines and understated styles. The two capitalised on their differences, hence, Kaitlin & Summer offers a variety of styles reflecting both their tastes.
“Kaitlin & Summer aims to set trends, not merely follow them,” says Ng.
One way to achieve this, she explains, is by featuring clothes by up-and-coming designers, primarily from Bangkok, New York and Hong Kong.
“We like to travel, and look at interesting new trends and promising young designers that we can help promote. We’d like to offer what you can’t find in the mall,” she says.
And, to ensure exclusivity, the duo make it a point to bring in only limited quantities of each item.
“We usually buy one piece in every size, or if it’s a free-sized item, we’d probably bring in a couple of the same apparel. This way, you won’t find everyone wearing the same thing as you are,” says Ng, adding that most of the apparel come in free-size and aren’t just for skinny minnies.
The merchandise are priced from RM60 to RM200, except for the bags which are a bit costlier.
At the moment, the duo are bringing in bags from New York accessories label, Boyy, which is gaining popularity among celebrities like Amber Valletta and Chloe Sevigny.
Boyy bags “I always feel a bag is an investment and you should spend a little more in getting a good bag,” explains Ng.
For a start, Kaitlin & Summer is introducing a modest collection of apparel and accessories – about 20 items in total. But as the duo intend to update their inventory every three weeks or so, this will certainly grow in months to come. Although they’re brand new entrepreneurs, the girls are aware that to be successful, their site must not only be attractive but functional as well.
“A lot of blog sites are difficult to navigate through so we made it a point to make ours easy and straighforward. For example, we invested a lot in easy payment schemes which will make it more convenient for customers,” says Ng.
For the moment, Kaitlin & Summer is catering only to women but the duo won’t rule out starting a men’s line in the future.
“We are definitely considering it. A few of our guy frinds have asked us to bring in a men’s line as well but we want to get this off the ground first,” adds Ng, who lists entrepreneur Ivanka Trump, actress Nicole Richie and celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe as some of her style icons.
Though challenging, the two are enjoying the experience of setting up Kaitlin & Summer.
“The experience has been a true eye- opener. This must be the most fulfulling, enriching and greatest learning process I’ve had. As co-founders, we had to do everything on our own and every step is new to us,” confesses Tan, who lists Diane von Furstenberg, Vivienne Westwood, Chanel, Bottega Veneta and Stella McCartney as some of her favourite designers.
“One of the biggest challenges was getting together a team to work with us. We finally have a great group that is more like a family rather than employees, and they share our passion for fashion,” Ng says.
Choosing a name also proved to be a challenge.
“It was torture. In the end, we decided we’d each pick the name we’d like to give our firstborn. It is, after all, our first project,” she says.
And, as one of their goals was to do something more meaningful with their lives, the girls have decided to donate a portion of their profits to a charity, which they initiated for disadvantaged women and children in Malaysia and Singapore, called Heart Programme.
While online retail sites like Kaitlin & Summer may not be changing our malls into ghost towns any time soon, they surely provide an attractive alternative for shoppers.
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