Spotlight on Copse Studio
Several Southeast Asian brands have won my loyalty, and one of them is Copse Studio. This Thai contemporary brand specialises in apparel, with a primary focus on footwear and leather goods. Amid the frenzy of short-form content and social media marketing on platforms like TikTok, where fast fashion and over-consumerism prevail, Copse Studio distinguishes itself by creating handcrafted, classic pieces that transcend fleeting trends. Each product is inspired by culture, travel, and utility, resulting in essential items for everyday life.

None of their products seem out of place, with every product meticulously designed with attention to detail. Take their two shirt designs, for instance – it showcases their unwavering dedication, from the choice of material to the precision of the embroidery. This focus on essential items embodies their philosophy of creating timeless pieces suitable for any occasion.

A Common Origin Story
Copse Studio’s origins echo the humble beginnings of many luxury brands, like Gucci. Gucci started as a small workshop producing high-quality leather goods. Guccio envisioned combining the refined aesthetics he observed in high-end hotels with the craftsmanship of local artisans. Similarly, Copse Studio was born from a intention to merge quality Thai craftsmanship with modern, contemporary design.

Driven by a simple passion for leather fisherman shoes that were nearly impossible to find in Thailand, Copse Studio’s founders took matters into their own hands and decided to create their own. They enlisted the help of a friend’s father, who had expertise in shoe design. Launched in 2019, Copse Studio faced a rocky start amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused many shoe factories to close. However, through perseverance and strategic partnerships, Copse Studio emerged strong and managed to navigate through the pandemic. As word spread about Copse contemporary style, they found a community of customers who shared their distinct taste in style.

Over time, Copse Studio’s dedication to craftsmanship and quality has distinguished them from typical shoe brands in Thailand. The founders, who also serve as designers, work hand-in-hand with shoemakers. The parallels between Gucci and Copse Studio are evident: both brands began with a strong emphasis on quality materials and meticulous craftsmanship, aiming to create products that were not only functional, but also stylish and built to last.

Hand-crafted sandals by Thai artisans at Copse Studio

Gucci grew steadily, prioritising quality and exclusivity, paving its ascent to global luxury status. Copse Studio follows a similar path. Beginning with a small community, Copse Studio has evolved into a niche brand, resonating with like-minded individuals who value classic and quality apparel. Their latest masterpiece, the Overlap Shoulder Bag, exemplifies their artistry – a handcrafted made-to-order piece composed from 90 individual leather pieces, meticulously assembled and interconnected using rings.

Copse Studio’s Overlap shoulder bag, crafted from 90 individual leather pieces

The Rise of Southeast Asian Brands
Southeast Asian fashion brands like Copse Studio are capturing attention with their unique blend of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary design, often rivalling Western counterparts but at more accessible prices. Drawing on a rich heritage of traditional crafts such as weaving, dyeing, and hand embroidery, these brands incorporate locally sourced materials into their modern designs. This fusion of the old and the new not only showcases the region’s cultural wealth but also gives these brands a distinctive edge.

As these brands continue to expand their reach through digital platforms, they are reshaping perceptions of Southeast Asia as a hub of craftsmanship and creativity. Their ability to deliver premium-quality products at accessible prices underscores their potential to disrupt and diversify the global fashion landscape, making luxury and artisanal craftsmanship more inclusive and desired.

Conclusion
In celebrating ‘Ideas, Perseverance, and Attention to Detail’, Copse Studio exemplifies these values through their commitment to quality and thoughtful design. As Southeast Asian brands continue to rise, they bring with them stories of resilience and creativity, proving that even the smallest, home-grown brands can make a significant impact on the global stage. Copse Studio is a testament to this potential, blending tradition and meticulous craftsmanship to create lasting fashion statements.

The post Issue 48: Q2 2024 appeared first on Tangible.

Read More: Amazon profits increased nearly 200% since start of Covid-19 pandemic

To paint the picture, we’re categorising SMEs as: Independent firms employing less than 500 employees. The nature of SME businesses mean they have been more negatively affected by shutdowns, social distancing, and related measures than larger companies. Think about the industries which employ under 500 staff: retail, construction and engineering, hospitality and tourism, manufacturing, food and beverage, and the list goes on. Not a great picture, right?

We need to be realistic about just how damaging Covid-19 has been for the SMEs as they have been hit on both the supply and demand side of the economy. On the supply side, reduced resources in both labour and raw materials have disrupted production. On the demand side, consumption and spending have decreased. The result is a drastic fall in revenues and the inability to maintain liquidity. With such downturn and low economic activity, unemployment starts to rise – further lowering demand and spending. To add to the pain, SMEs typically have lower cash reserves than larger enterprises. In the US, less than 50% of SMEs have enough cash on hand to cover 15 days of expenses, and the ‘healthy’ SMEs have under two months of cash reserve to cover expenses. It’s clear that access to capital quickly becomes an issue.

Enough of the bad news, so what can SMEs learn from the past year of uncertainty? What follows are five opportunity areas that could help SMEs become leaner, greener fighting machines.

Read More: COVID-19’s Impacts on SMEs and
Policy Recommendations in Response

Opportunity 1: Digital transformation

Before Covid-19, the mention of the words “digital disruption” or “digital transformation” would be met with blank looks or vague interest. Many SMEs were unclear of what ‘big data’, ‘data analytics’ or ‘cloud computing’ were. According to one study of 575 SMEs in Singapore, 70% cent of SMEs had not leveraged data analytics and of these, about half have no intention to. This situation has changed rapidly since, with many SMEs looking out for the opportunities that digital solutions bring. In Singapore, of the 63,000 SMEs who have adopted digital solutions from SMEs Go Digital, 40,000 signed up in 2020 (offered by Infocomm Media Development Authority).

In a nutshell, data can help SMEs:

1. Understand what makes customers tick. There are many Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools designed specifically for SMEs (nutshell). Social media is also an obvious source of valuable data, allowing SMEs to identify customer behaviour, key markets and get customer feedback much easier and cheaper than before.
2. Identify trends. Online services collate trends or answer specific questions for businesses, such as Trendera and Trend Hunter.
3. Check out the competition. Google Trends offer insights on a brand’s popularity and social media analytics can illustrate popularity.
4. Improving operations. Depending on your business, smart-sensors, GPS tracking and social media trends and predictions can give you the data to maximise production, increase sales and reduce unwanted stock. Let’s not forget all the cloud-based applications specifically designed for SMEs to manage a business’ finances (Xero), project processes, and communications (internal: slack and marketing: sendinblue)
5. Recruit and manage talent. Combining your existing data with online services should allow SMEs to find the best candidates (Indeed),
   identify the best recruitment channels and help to better employee engagement. (Qualtrics).

Read More: The new challenge facing SMEs is how to be deeply digital

Opportunity 2: Speed and innovation

Many SMEs suffer from slow processes and rigid hierarchies. The pandemic has encouraged rigid systems to be flexible, procedures skipped or accelerated, rules side-tracked and autonomous decision-making without formal approval. Remote work has empowered many employees, and counter to leaderships misconceptions, productivity often improves.

The Covid-19 response has proven that habits can shift and change much quicker than previously expected. Restaurants shift to delivery, schools shift to remote learning, work shifts to home. Remember how contentious ‘hot desking’ was? These shifts may not be permanent but hybrid solutions could be the future.

Opportunity 3: Better meetings

Apparently, employees spend 23 hours a week in meetings. Half of these are considered unproductive. We’re not saying that Zoom is the answer but no one seems to schedule meetings longer than an hour anymore and when the hour is up everyone’s gone. Post-crisis, can you imagine people going back to the inefficiencies of the old ways?

Opportunity 4: Re-evaluation

With so many routines being interrupted, SMEs have the opportunity to rethink, re-evaluate and make changes. This may be around its business model, personnel, marketing, product offer or environment. As with many aspects of life, we learn the most in difficult times, so SMEs should utilise this time for deep reflection.

Opportunity 5: A cleaner environment

The pandemic has dramatically reduced industrial activities. Factories, traffic and air travel have all slowed down. Covid-19 led to a significant reduction in greenhouse gas and other polluting emissions. Thinking of the other clichéd term, “build back better” seems appropriate as corporations and governments are making pledges to decarbonise and become carbon-neutral by specific dates. This represents a golden opportunity for entrepreneurs, start-ups, and SMEs to develop businesses for the ‘Green Decade’. Because 2020 is the decade that this has to happen.

Finally, let’s look at what policy makers have learnt. SMEs are a fundamental sector of the economy representing about 90% of businesses and, depending on your sources, between 50% – 70% of employment worldwide. Thus, SMEs are critical to public policy in most functioning economies and governments have been quick to respond with measures in place to help SMEs survive and thrive for the future. 

Here are the 10 focus points in policy-making for SMEs
as a result of Covid 19:

1. Ensure the rapid delivery of SME and entrepreneurship policy
   support by simplifying access to support and ensuring effective
   digital delivery systems
2. Prioritise viable companies and start-ups;
3. Focus on start-up policies to enhance the potential
   of innovative new ventures
4. Ensure that support measures are inclusive and reach vulnerable segments of the SME population
5. Rethink policy approaches with regard to self-employed entrepreneurs
6. Avoid SME solvency crisis by exploring non-debt support
7. Prepare responsible exit strategies for emergency liquidity
   support measures
8. Include a strong focus on the digitalisation of SMEs.
9. Ensure effective and inclusive multi-level governance mechanisms
10. Ensure SMEs and entrepreneurs, and the organisations that
    represent them, are consulted and included in the government
    decision-making processes

Covid-19 has affected everyone’s lives in vastly different ways but life goes on. We hope you can draw some optimism from this article and continue to support the little guys who are the lifeblood of every economy.

Read More: Small and medium enterprises (SMES) finance

Banner Image: Unsplash

The post Issue 36 : Q2 2021 appeared first on Tangible.

Today, more than 90% of CEOs state that sustainability is important to their company’s profits and success. In the report ‘The Next Phase of Business Sustainability’, Andrew Hoffman cites that “Companies have developed sustainability strategies, market sustainable products and services, create positions such as chief sustainability officer, and publish sustainability reports for consumers, investors, activists, and the public at large.”

Although no one person or company can take credit for the current state of sustainability, there are individuals who played an integral role in building the momentum. We will be shining the spotlight on some of these sustainability pioneers and 4 key insights that have changed their organisations, resulting in others following their lead. 

Insight 1: The cost of inaction is higher than the cost of action

In a 2017 interview, Paul Polman, the CEO of Unilever, said “The cost of not investing, is more expensive than the cost of investing in sustainable practices.”

Polman continues “Today, the cost of climate change on the world is over five trillion dollars. The cost of wars is 8-10% of our global GDP, which is equal to about eight trillion dollars. If we solve these problems, not only will we not lose seven trillion dollars every year, but we will also create 26 trillion-worth of new market opportunities.” Polman challenges anybody to find another market opportunity that offers a 15-times payout — it doesn’t exist on a scale this big.

The Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) was launched in 2010 with its triple goals of 

1. Improving health and well-being
2. Reducing environmental impact 
3. Enhancing livelihoods

The Results of Investing in Sustainable Efforts

Since the launch of USLP, Unilever has grown from strength to strength. “Meeting evolving customer expectations for responsible behaviour, creates benefits for a company’s brand. Brands that have a stronger purpose are brands that are more profitable.” Polman asserted, “It is cheaper to attack the issues and invest in solving them than to deal with the costs”

Polman explains that beyond saving lives (which should be reason enough) if businesses invest in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) they will be more profitable, employees will be more engaged, and the employer brand will be stronger.

Businesses must dedicate resources – their people, profits, products, and processes towards the SDGs.

Read More: Yale Insights- Paul Polman: Should Companies Lead on Sustainability?

Insight 2: Big change has to begin from the top 

In sustainability circles, Walmart is perhaps best known for its environmental efforts. In 2005, the company announced 3 goals:

1. To be supplied with 100% renewable energy
2. To create zero waste
3. To sell products that sustain people and the environment

However, arriving at this stage did not come without challenges. Lee Scott, the former CEO of Walmart, faced disapproval from the inside and outside the company. Although many stakeholders approached Scott, telling him that he was wrong to be spending time and money on environmental efforts, Scott was steadfast in his vision.

“The great thing about a business is, it’s not a democracy. People can have a say but they don’t necessarily get a vote. The Board gets a vote.”

This courage and guts to create change from the top led Walmart to a 12.7% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, preventing 80% of waste from going into landfills, and over 180 renewable energy projects. CEOs have to take the lead for real change to happen.

Insight 3: Harness your uniqueness and tell the world about it

Michael Porter,  co-creator of “Creating Shared Value”, outlines sustainability from a competitive strategy perspective.

Any business can claim to be sustainable and it might be just another buzzword being thrown about. But what can your business do to make your sustainability efforts stand out from other companies?

Michael Porter, Harvard Business School Professor and co-creator of “Creating Shared Value” comments “becoming successful in sustainability relies on similar philosophies of competitiveness. What does your company do uniquely well and how can you capitalise off of it? If a company is going to be really effective on sustainability,” he explained, “it’s got to pick its spots. It’s got to figure out where it has the greatest leverage in the business.”

In addition, companies are often either too humble or too fearful to communicate their success. Porter said, “I would say there are still companies who seem embarrassed by talking about the fact that sustainability approaches produce profits. There still is this sense that if it’s profitable, that’s somehow bad. If it’s profitable, ‘that makes us seem greedy.’ I think we’ve got to get over that. I think if we can align societal interest and economic interest, then we will make dramatically more rapid progress.”

If your company’s sustainability policies have resulted in positive change, celebrate it.

Read: Creating Shared Value

Insight 4: Predict The Future

To ensure your business continues to be sustainable tomorrow and many years to come, you need to predict the future. Peter Senge, Founder of the Society of Organizational Learning, believes that the future of sustainability lies in the hands of the younger generations of businesses and people.

“We need the big companies to get things moving in the short term because they have the clout,” Senge said. “They have the market clout, they have the brand clout. But if you look over 10 to 30 years, the big story will be the companies that are relatively smaller today, but who will grow up with this DNA embedded in them. They’re growing it from the inside and these are exactly the companies who will matter over 10 to 30 years.”

Senge also spoke of the role of new technology in the future: “The Internet firms to me are the perfect example of an opportunity that people still haven’t quite seized. The new industries are where the real changes could be.”

Setting an example for tech companies

Sundar Pichai, Google CEO, said the company will be eliminating its entire carbon legacy, by 2030. In a blog post outlining the company’s sustainability plans, Pichai wrote: “We were the first major company to match our energy use with 100% renewable energy in 2017. We operate the cleanest global cloud in the industry, and we’re the world’s largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy. “

“In our third decade of climate action, we are going even further to help build a carbon-free future for everyone.” He estimated that the commitments Google announced on carbon neutrality and sustainable energy will directly generate more than 20,000 new jobs in clean energy and associated industries, in the US and around the world, by 2025.

“Our data centres are large power consumers, and if we can achieve 24/7 carbon-free energy for our entire fleet, economically, we can demonstrate that a carbon-free economy is possible.” comments Urs Hölzle, Google senior vice-president for technical infrastructure.

Watch: Google’s Third Decade Of Climate Action

To conclude, changing the way your business operates for the betterment of all stakeholders, including shareholders, is what sustainability is all about. Real change has to begin within the company, right from the top and it requires boldness, visionary thinking, passion and courage.

Read More: Pioneers of Sustainability

Banner Image: Unilever Headquarters, Jakarta

The post Issue 35 : Q1 2021 appeared first on Tangible.

The ideals of male beauty have changed over the years. Today, personal vanity is socially encouraged. Men, especially in Asia, are paying a lot more attention and have a greater interest in their grooming habits. Popular subcultures such as the Korean Wave are strong factors in influencing this rising trend. Men have greater access to a wide variety of beauty and skincare products⁠—such as toners, exfoliating masks, BB creams, and lip tints. Some men even participate in the rigorous, hallmark Korean 10-step skincare routine. This skincare routine is regarded as a lifestyle choice and has become a global phenomenon, grounded in South Korea’s cultural obsession with healthy skin.

The emerging market of men’s beauty is attracting big global brands – such as Chanel and Tom Ford –  to invest in creating product specifically for men. For instance, China’s booming beauty market is expected to double by 2030. As men today are eager to express themselves and redefine the concept of masculinity, beauty companies are diving deeper and experimenting with the growing needs, or wants, of the new generation of men.

K-beauty and J-beauty 

In the first half of 2019, there were speculations that J-beauty was going to overtake K-beauty as the next champion of the beauty industry. Why is J-beauty only starting to resurface now when Japanese brands such as Shiseido have been around for years? Once known as the pioneer of the beauty industry, Japanese beauty brands have been overshadowed by K-beauty in recent years. One possible reason is that they are deemed less trendy than their Korean counterparts due to the massive influence of K-pop. Another reason is the price point; well-known Japanese brands are known to be more luxurious and less affordable. 

While J-beauty is presumed to keep a low profile in recent years, Japanese brands are actually busy dedicating their time to dermatological research & development. With the rise of consumer’s spending power in developing Asian countries, consumers are increasingly willing to splurge on J-beauty’s established luxurious brands (such as SKII, THREE, and Astalift) that are proven to be clinically effective.

While undoubtedly J-beauty is a strong player in the skincare and cosmetics’ industry, there is still room for K-beauty globally, ensuring K-beauty is unlikely to be ousted by J-beauty any time soon. Both beauty cultures target different audiences effectively; J-beauty targets mature consumers with higher spending power primarily through luxurious and clinically tested products, while K-beauty targets younger consumers mainly via affordable skincare and trendy cosmetics. All in all, the Asian beauty industry is definitely prospering and will continue to thrive.

Demand for organic and eco-friendly beauty

The beauty industry is sadly notorious for its negative impact on the environment. Zero Waste discloses that every year, 120 billion units of packaging produced by the global beauty industry is not recyclable. Nonetheless, there has been a shift in the consumers’ mindsets. Consumers are increasingly health-conscious and well-informed about the importance of going green, which has consequently led to increased demand for more organic and eco-friendly products. 

According to Ecovia Intelligence, the Asian market for natural and organic cosmetics was valued at $652m in 2017. This value is expected to increase rapidly as the industry is in its infancy. Skincare companies in Asia are ramping up their efforts to enter this new market. Unfortunately, many companies in Asia are still ‘greenwashing’ their products due to the lack of stringent advertising guidelines.

A key target market of the industry are millennials. Millennials, also known as the Green Generation have a keen interest in sustainability. According to research conducted by Neilsen in 2015, millennials view sustainability as a shopping priority and are willing to pay extra for sustainable offerings. As such, there has been a rise in businesses taking positive measures to eliminate plastic packaging and limiting water usage. The journey towards a greener supply chain in the Asian beauty industry is still a long one. Companies should aim to be more transparent in their operations – sourcing of ingredients, packaging, and internal processes.

The post Issue 28: Q2 2019 appeared first on Tangible.

1. Making sustainability good business sense

The idea of sustainable business is based on the idea that business is connected to ecological & social systems, so if these systems fail, then business will ultimately fail. The idea must have legs because governments, regulators & investors are encouraging companies to disclose their sustainable credentials.

China is leading the way, not only in green tech but also in legislation, highlighted by the recent government environment tax to better protect the environment & cut pollution (we won’t mention the US Gov’t). In business, the lexicon of ‘triple bottom line’ of: People, Planet & Profits has caught on & many companies are seeing the benefits. Today over 71% of the world’s top 500 companies choose to externally audit their environmental impact numbers. These bigger companies also realize that when their suppliers adopt sustainable practices the benefits can be amplified.

Corporate Knights, a Toronto based research firm, produces a list of the global top 100 most sustainable companies by rating them on 14 key measures which evaluate their management of resources, finances & employees. Siemens, the German industrial conglomerate, came top of their rankings for 2017, producing more revenue per kilowatt than any other. They also have a low carbon footprint & a low employee turnover. Now doesn’t sound like good business?

2. Brands should see sustainability as a prerequisite

Sadly it appears that most consumers don’t really care that much about sustainability. Surveys have shown that while people say that environmentally friendly products are important to them, only one in three is prepared to put their money where their mouth is & pay more for them. Across virtually all categories statements such as “The most environmentally friendly brand’’ are the least related statements to brand loyalty. This may be a result of brands ‘greenwashing’ their products with questionable claims.

The answer to sceptical consumers is for big business to ‘bake-in’ sustainable practices into their operations & their brands. Unilever has been a leading advocate for years, with Paul Polman (CEO) introducing the Unilever ‘Sustainable Living Plan’. This articulates three big goals:

1. Improving health & well being for more than 1 billion people by 2020

2. Reducing environmental impact by half by 2030

3. Enhancing livelihoods for millions.

It’s interesting when you look at their brands, as none of them overtly communicate sustainability as a unique selling point or leverage sustainability to gain a higher price.

Read more:

• Sustainable Living
• The World’s Most Sustainable Companies 2017

See more:

The post Issue 23: Q1 2018 appeared first on Tangible.