Followers of my blog will know that if possible, I will always try to support our local brands and businesses.
When I am traveling, I will like to buy local brands or products that are only available in that country. Conversely, if I am going to buy gifts for my overseas friends, I will also try to buy brands or products that are designed or made in Singapore.
As Christmas and New Year approaches over the next two weeks, I am sure a lot of us will be out there hunting for the perfect gifts for our loved ones. Why not support our local brands and businesses while you are out doing your last minute shopping?
How do you get to know more about well designed and high quality Singapore retail merchandises you may ask. Well, it’s a good thing there’s GET SINGAPORE. Via their official press release:
GET SINGAPORE is the result of a joint initiative from the Retail Industry to develop a collective brand that will serve as a focused marketing platform for local retail brands to create awareness of well designed, high quality Singaporean merchandise. The initiative, supported by SPRING Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board and IE Singapore, has been subscribed by over 30 retail brands.
The non-profit organisation highlights some of the most interesting Singapore brands and Singapore-inspired merchandise. These comprise established brands that have been around for decades, as well some exciting newcomers. GET SINGAPORE Brands Ltd was incorporated in December 2008 and officially launched in March 2009.
In summary, GET SINGAPORE is a non-profit organisation set up to collectively market some quality Singapore brands under a major “Singapore brand” umbrella.
I was looking through their list of over 30 retail brands under GET SINGAPORE and I must say, I was impressed. A few need no introduction and are also established brands internationally – eg. OSIM and Eu Yan Sang. Most are definitely familiar brand names to Singapore residents.
The ones that interested me particularly were Action City, Nanyang Optical, theKube, CYC The Custom Shop, Kwanpen and Tessere.
Kwanpen and Tessere sell finely crafted leather handbags. Kwanpen has been in the crocodile handbags business since 1938 and has a cult following in the international market, especially in Japan.
Action City and Nanyang Optical would probably need no introduction for mall sharks as they both have many retail outlets in various Singapore malls. They are both retails outlets that I frequent and support.
I think what is particularly amazing about both Action City and Nanyang Optical is that although both started as reseller retail fronts, both have ventured successfully into their own product development.
Breadou, developed by Big Box International Pte Ltd, the parent company for Action City, is a series of playful confectionery-inspired products. They are shaped and manufactured to smell and look like confectionery items, but are actually squeezable stress relievers that can also double as mouse rests. I bought a whole bunch of their mouse rests last year for some of my office colleagues who were pretty amused. Rachel got one too and it is still sitting on her desk today.
Nanyang Optical, on the hand, developed Eyelet, the world’s first stitch-lock eyewear using nylon string to lock the lenses within the rims of the frame, replacing the conventional screw locking system. The frame is eco-friendly with no soldering involved and the temples are made of recycled polymer. Playing around with the frame, it is ultra light and bendy.
Moving on the theKube, I was drawn to this as I only got to know of this brand through GET SINGAPORE. Designed in Singapore, theKube is a stylishly designed miniature mp3 player. It comes in 13 colours with only three buttons to control its functions and is able to play for 6 hours continuously when fully charged. It retails at just $37.90, much cheaper than a 2GB iPod Shuffle at $78 at the Apple online store. Moreover, your song files are stored in a microSD card and not theKube itself, giving you more mobility in switching your files around.
Finally on CYC The Custom Shop, I think most Singaporeans know that this is the tailoring brand that our founding prime minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew swears by. There is really no better brand endorsement than getting the thumbs of approval from THE MAN himself. 🙂
Anyway, there is a giveaway campaign going on at the GET GIVING facebook page. Do go check it out! Happy shopping everyone! Support Singapore brands!
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