Shop Introduction

AhBoy.Com is a blogshop established in October 2009, focusing on providing quality and value for money Japanese street fashion for males between 18 and 35 in Singapore.

Description of Blog Shop Owner

AhBoy.Com’s owner, Jeff, is a recent graduate from a local university, who recently went for a leisure trip to Tokyo and was intrigued by the fashion sense of the guys in Japan. Having read and learnt about various business theories in school and armed with practical experience in running his own technology firm in the past, he decided to start this blogshop to pave the path to move into fashion business.

Theories in relation to Marketing (Product, Pricing, Promotion, and Placing), IT (Search Engine Optimisation), and Strategies (Blue Ocean Strategy, Disruptive Innovation), have been carefully planned and administered in the running of AhBoy.Com.

Focusing on a niche market of Japanese fashion for male is an example of adopting the Blue Ocean Strategy where AhBoy.Com is contesting in a market that is still in the blue (not so congested with many other competitors). Pricing and placing the products in the “quality” and “value for money” segment is a way to break free from the low-cost disruption innovation that was used by many other blogshop owners.

Beside of business knowledge, technology plays a paramount role to a successful online portal. An online portal requires the exposure to search engines and getting it ranked high on selected keywords so that it can attract the right crowd (potential customers) to the site. Jeff understood the fundamentals of search engines which are based on the concept of “Hub and Authority”, and sucessfully optimised the search results to AhBoy.Com. The website now ranks #1 for search on “Japanese fashion for men Singapore”. In summary, Jeff’s view is that creating synergies between business and technology is key to creating a successful online business.

Ah Boy Products

Interview

SpreeCrunch is honored to interview Jeff, the sole owner of AhBoy.com which specializes in providing Japanese fashion for Men in Singapore. Totally new to the fashion industry, Jeff has been working in the financial industry and had even set up his own company.

1. SpreeCrunch: May I know what is your current occupation?

Ahboy: Nothing related to fashion, I am currently working in the financial industry.

2. SpreeCrunch: Is this your first time to start your own online business?

Ahboy: Yes, this is the first time I’m starting an online business, but not the first to run a business. I ran my own IT company for the past couple of years prior to my current job, providing IT consultations and services ranging from setting up office network to web applications development.

3. SpreeCrunch: How long have you been in this industry?

Ahboy: Slightly more than a month, but it feels like a long time to me already.

4. SpreeCrunch:What was the reason for you to start this business?

Ahboy: It was during my recent trip to Tokyo recently that I was intrigued by the fashion sense of guys in Japan. What came to my mind was that there might be a market back home. I am aware of the competitiveness of the fashion industry, and as such, decided to start a blogshop to test this market out. It is actually a test-bed for me to go full-fledged into the fashion business later on.

5. SpreeCrunch: What future plans do you have for this business?

Ahboy: My short term plan for first few months is to establish on a strong brand name by executing an intense marketing campaign, both online and offline. I want AhBoy.Com to be the first brand name that comes to people’s mind whenever they are looking for the Latest, Quality, and Value-for-Money Japanese Men Fashion Wear.

6. SpreeCrunch: What is the business current situation?

Ahboy: 1.5 months since I first started this blogshop, I’m pleased with the number of visitors and sales. It’s great and I think there is potential for further growth. At least I’m sure there is a market now for Japanese Men Fashion in Singapore.

7. SpreeCrunch: Have you faced any difficulties during the start-up?

Ahboy: I’ve not really encountered difficulty so far as the capital to start an online business is rather low, but I’m prepared for more difficulties to arise as I progress further.

8. SpreeCrunch: What other benefits do you have by starting this online business besides money?

Ahboy: I think other non tangible benefits are the experience and knowledge in the fashion industry. I’ve worked briefly in the retail line selling IT equipment, and running this blogshop complements my knowledge by adding on the experience pertinent to the fashion industry.

9. SpreeCrunch: What do you have to sacrifice in order to continue with this business?

Ahboy: Time! I’m spending a fair bit of my spare time maintaining the blog and responding to e-mails.

10. SpreeCrunch: What was the main thing that motivates you to continue with this business despite the unfavourable conditions?

Ahboy: I guess it’s intrinsic in me. I am an explorer who likes to explore and experience new things. Besides, I also like challenges and solving problems. Thus, whenever there are any problems, it motivates me to solve them. I enjoy the aftermath feeling.

11. SpreeCrunch: Where do you seek for customers?

Ahboy: To seek for customers, I’m currently building AhBoy.Com’s online presence through Search Engine Optimizations (SEOs) and targeted online advertising, while promoting offline through sponsorship of student activities in schools. In the long term, my plan is to sustain or expand the pool of customers mainly through word of mouth marketing.

12. SpreeCrunch: How do you boost your popularity online?

Ahboy: I’m doing it through online advertising and SEOs (which I’ve learnt formally in school on the workings of search engines and am now putting my knowledge into practice!).

13. SpreeCrunch: What exactly makes your online business stand out from the rest?

Ahboy: If you realize, the turnover of my stock is rather higher. I intend to keep that momentum where I will only bring in a few pieces of each design each time and will phase them out after a short period. This will ensure the uniqueness (not commonly seen in Singapore) and quality of the products. Also, this way, customers will not find a pool on people wearing the same clothes on the street while still keeping up with the trend in Japan.

SpreeCrunch’s Remark

Ahboy has joined SpreeCrunch since November 28th, 2009. After reviews by our team members, SpreeCrunch is pleased to invite Ahboy for an exclusive interview as it has met our criteria. SpreeCrunch was delighted that Ahboy has decided to accept the interview.

Even though Ahboy is being operated alone, it has big plans for its future. SpreeCrunch works on a global scale and we welcome all online shops to join our network. We strive to help out as much as we can to promote online shopping. SpreeCrunch would like to express our thanks to Ahboy for their support and we hope all online shoppers would support Ahboy as well.