From a home business to a full-fledged ready-to-wear children’s label in Malaysia, Whimsigirl has come a long way since its beginnings in 2010. When it launched its online store and a Facebook page in 2012, it rapidly expanded its market base and became a household name among young parents.
"Our creations are based on theme and story. We try to infuse cultural elements into the clothes and creations so that each piece will tell a story and the theme is usually created into the design process all the way through our ad campaign," said Syazana Sukiman, Founding Creative Director, Whimsigirl Design, in a video testimonial.
Having lived in Kuala Lumpur and Melbourne, the Whimsigirl website said Syazana is strongly inspired and influenced by culture, which proves to be valuable to the label’s identity and direction.
However, taking the brand to next level has proven to be very challenging for the start-up. Ahmad Anis Abdul Aziz, Managing Partner, Whimsigirl Design, said the company was introduced by a friend to an e-commerce platform to help them manage the business and they decided to give it a try.
"I’m not the most computer savvy person in the world and I find it very easy to manage," Syazana now says about the platform.
Basically, the Shopify e-commerce platform allows businesses to create online stores without having to assemble and maintain its own technical team. The packaged solution comes with a built-in mobile commerce shopping cart, a customers’ database, and insights on shopping habits and order history of customers.
In addition, the Shopify apps offer marketing capabilities, SEO enhancements, sales trends tracking, inventory management, store integration on Facebook and more.
Founded in 2006 by two snowboarding enthusiasts who wanted to sell their snowboards online, Shopify today has more than 70,000 online retailers as clients, including big name brands like General Electric, Tesla Motors, and Foo Fighters, Encyclopedia Britannica, Tata Group.
Coming to Malaysia
Last month, Shopify officially launched in Malaysia, giving entrepreneurs like Whimsigirl Design the ease and convenience of a packaged IT solution customized for their needs.
"Shopify decided to launch in Malaysia because our analytics showed that we have a strong demand here in Southeast Asia," said Brennan Loh, Head of Business Development, Shopify, in an email interview.
The e-commerce platform has approximately 200 actively selling stores in the country. "Therefore we made sure to do everything that we needed, including localizing the Shopify platform and infrastructure, and setting up integration with payment gateways and courier services," Loh said.
The company expects to double the size of its clients by the end of 2014, serving the needs of 1,000 stores.
Loh said this projection is based from, among others, the fast rate of Internet adoption in Malaysia, motivated in part by the Digital Malaysia plan implemented by the government last year.
"We foresee that online retailing in Malaysia will continue to grow," he said. "Undeniably, technology plays a very important role in the e-commerce and mobile commerce landscapes in Malaysia."
As it is now, of Malaysia’s online population, 143.4 percent are mobile users, 61 percent Internet users, and 21.7 percent broadband users. More interestingly, e-commerce penetration rate is expected to grow from 0.8 percent in 2011 to 1.4 percent in 2016.
According to Loh, retailers today can benefit from the same technology that powers the online stores of Fortune 500 companies, at a fraction of the price, when three years ago, this was not possible.
"Back then, online retailers had to spend thousands of ringgits on servers, fraud prevention tools, design, payment gateway…the list goes on. Today, for less than MYR50 (USD15.5) a month, online retailers get all the above and more. In fact, having these criteria is no longer a luxury – it is a necessity," he said.
Shopify has four business plans: Starter, Basic, Professional and Unlimited. Business owners can sign up for a 14-day free trial, after which they stand to receive a 10 percent savings if they register for a one-year plan. Customers on a one-year plan will enjoy free set-up and apps.
In Malaysia, Shopify has integrated with iPay88, Southeast Asia’s leading regional payment gateway provider, to process Internet payment in ringgit and other foreign currencies, either through cash or credit card. The checkout process is simple and secure, due to a 128-bit SSL certificate, an encryption used by large banks around the world. Business owners also have the option of incorporating tax and shipping rates to the checkout process for added convenience.
"Our commitments to our merchants are to make opening an online store and accepting orders from buyers anywhere around the world as easy and as seamless as possible," Loh said. "As Shopify continues to work with current leaders in the e-commerce and mobile commerce spaces, we are positive that more exciting disruption from new, innovative payment companies will soon make their entrances."
Taking Stock is Retail in Asia’s fortnightly column dedicated to showcasing opinions from experts in the retail industry.