There is a common misconception that those who are simply too tidy have an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), a serious psychiatric illness. So he comes across a local company that produces storage boxes for the so-called organization OCDEEI assumed it was a reference to the disorder, which can be quite insensitive.
When he was investigated, his team was grateful that we had raised him. “OCDEE actually means Ordinary Concept Done exceptionally excellently. And we want the name to be able to relate almost instantly to a space or area as a noun, rather than being related to the symptoms of the mental disorder, ”its brand manager, Lim Chwee Jenn, told Vulcan Post.
Seeing its real acronyms, it makes sense the idea behind the OECD name. It redesigns common products for organizations such as shoes and storage boxes and creates a version focused on quality, functionality, practicality and durability in a way that also looks aesthetic.
With the heads of the sneakers in mind, OECD created the Shoebox Convention. It is the brand’s best-seller to date among the 42,000 shoe boxes sold as a business a year ago.
Convoy for convenience
Prior to the OECD, Chun How was one of the founding members of ServisHero, Sonno and Alcosm, mainly in the functions of business development and marketing. Jeanne, its co-founder, has also been in the domestic manufacturing industry, with at least five years of experience in finance, sourcing and supply chain.
The idea of starting the OECD impacted them in July 2020, when they both identified a growing demand for simple shoe boxes for the shoe community organization. Together, they had spent their free time during the closing to get to the Convi shoe box.
It is an easily accessible shoe box that has a 120 ° open lid on the front, which has a finger handle to help slide the shoes to get it comfortably. Made of polypropylene plastic, OCDEE claims to be strong and stable enough to stack up to 8 boxes.
This means you don’t need to have a lot of space to set it up, in contrast to the space normally needed for normal shoe cabinets.
Of course, there are already similar storage solutions for shoes on the market. For example, Tower Box it has its own version, but it does not have the same lid or drawer functions as OECD.
Molding it together
“We learned that in reality it is a quite heavy investment regarding the manufacture of molds, therefore, have to consider how could adapt the ideal design to the available resources to keep us viable. The whole execution took us 3 months and the pandemic made it more difficult, ”they shared.
Ultimately, they spent RM 12,000 as capital on R&D and other upfront costs.
OCDEE managed to convince a manufacturer to come as a partner through a profit-sharing model, so the brand did not have to absorb the initial cost of making molds. Today, OECD can produce at least 3,000 boxes of Convi shoes a month.
For market research, the team read customer review pages from other shoe box sellers to assess whether or not they had a fair price for their products.
They realized that distributors who sold transparent shoe boxes retailed poorly made products at low cost or at an unreasonable price due to the distribution model. Distribution is where merchants who partner with the manufacturer will buy the products and sell them at a higher price for more profit.
“Therefore, our Convi Shoebox will act like an intermediate point, providing to the people no only the quality, but also a more affordable price, an experience of purchase without problems and a more durable product. This is the gap to which we wanted to provide a solution, “said the team.
With this direct consumer model, OCDEE is able to offer its Convi Shoebox at RM39 per box, which is slightly cheaper than the Tower Box set of 2 which costs 89 RMR (44.50 RM each).
These products are currently sold through the OECD website, along with its official Shopee and Lazada stores. To expand, the team is exploring partners to work both online and offline during its second year of business.
Build customer confidence
As a new brand, many were cautious about whether or not OECD was a legitimate business because of their previous experiences related to unreliable shoe box purchases.
Some of the questions that are usually asked of the team include concerns about the quality of the product up to the price and whether the brand would cover replacements if damage occurred during deliveries.
With confidence in their products, the OECD team wanted to provide customers with a favorable experience before and after the purchase.
“In fact, we delivered a new free shoe box for every complaint about damages we received before we finally introduced our 30-day parts replacement policy,” they explained.
Their efforts bore fruit, reflected in the 42,000 units of shoe boxes they have sold so far, with 11% month-on-month (MoM) growth. The credibility of the OECD brand also increased as a result, through positive reviews from customers who also recommended the brand’s products to their friends.
While OECD’s original target market was sneaker lovers, the brand has found most of its buyers in young professionals in the late 20s to early 40s who want a conducive living space.
Since I have personally seen many friends and family renovate and reorganize their homes during closures, I asked OECD if they saw that this trend was also generating sales.
The team responded in the affirmative and added that it had also been used for marketing. “There was a time earlier this year when we really tried to highlight Convi shoe boxes for versatile uses, such as night drawers, desk organizers, cork organizers, and general organizers. Guess what? Van be some of our best performing campaigns. “
While they are earning an average income of RM131K per month, its founders reported that OECD is still not profitable at this stage as it reinvests heavily in brand growth.
“In short, we have always wanted to be a brand for the home and life, focused mainly on providing practical but functional organization and storage products. The intersection of MUJI and IKEA, perhaps, “they represented.
To achieve this, they will first focus on expanding their equipment and product range to meet the different storage needs of various living spaces such as kitchens, bedrooms and work spaces. Later, OECD will expand to more sales channels to market its products in neighboring countries as well.
Featured Image Credit: Chun How, co-founder of OECD
