Fast-growing Hong Kong-based online fashion business Grana has opened a pop up store in Singapore.
The Grana Singapore pop up is its second – and this one is located in the heart of the city’s retail zone, on Orchard Rd.
Grana is the creation of Australian Luke Grana, who was inspired by the high quality of t-shirts he came across during a trip to Peru. The site was developed with a unique business model in mind – in Grana’s own words “high-quality fashion at disruptive prices”.
Last week, Grana announced it had received US$1.5 million in fresh funding led by Golden Gate Ventures which would be invested in expanding the business and running more short term pop up stores in Asian markets to boost brand awareness.
The Singapore Grana pop up is located on Level 1 of Orchard Central, and will trade until August 5 from 11am – 10pm daily.
Grana’s business model is a little different to more high profile brand fashion chains.
“We deal directly with fabric mills instead of going through distributors or agents. Also, by operating online, we don’t have to pay rent,” says founder Luke Grana.
“So when fashion retailers put in mark-ups along the way, our pricing is really simple: each of our shirts cost US$6, we retail that for US$12; jeans are US$20, we sell that for US$40. It’s a really honest and transparent pricing model and I think that’s what our, Generation Y customers prefer.”
Grana plans to triple its range of styles, expand its online marketing into more countries and open more pop-up stores, which have proven hugely successful in building brand awareness in Hong Kong.
This year, Grana is expanding into China, Europe, Japan, South Korea and Dubai. It will also expand its range into new apparel categories: Mongolian cashmere sweaters, Irish linen shirts, French poplin shirts and US twill chinos.