Delugs, a watch strap manufacturer based in Singapore, has a distinct goal: to produce changing the straps a habit. ” Embarrassing, people change their view belts just when they’re broken or need a successor. But that does n’t have to be the case”, said Chia Pei Qi, co-founder of the company. ” You can modify it based on occasion, what you’re wearing. Why not transform our buckles, like how we change our clothes every day?
In a span of six decades, Delugs has come a long way from its humble origins. Its straps even made its way onto Ed Sheeran’s wrist ( more on that later ).
Chia, 30, and her father, Kenneth Kuan, 31, were civil workers before embarking on their entrepreneurship journey. The pair started set crafting as a side business in 2016, producing view straps, cardholders, and other little leather goods.
After honing their expertise in the latter, they took in commissioned purchases. Kuan said,” We started out as set craftsmen who wanted to sell see enthusiasts a high-quality set strap.” The couple then noticed a market gap. People who wanted high-quality straps frequently turned to set craftspeople like ours, but that frequently meant lengthy waiting lists and higher prices. If you wanted something that’s easily attainable, with a wide selection and high-quality production, there’s not really an opportunity out there”.
Delugs was born in 2018 as a result. It is a ready stock of belts in various materials, colors, and sizes for customers to purchase right away from an online store with the click of a button. After working from Kuan’s home for a while, users can also visit the company’s store and department in Ubi, which they opened in 2022.
” We were really bursting out of the bedroom”, Kuan said of the move. ” Anything took place in his room. Photography took position beneath his office while we were creating on it. It was a blessing in disguise that our products are quite small, so you do n’t need a lot of space”, Chia recalled.
The couple was aware that a larger area was necessary to expand their product range. We wanted to create some fresh materials a lot more of. Moving into a bigger storage allowed us to increase the group and take on a lot more people, whether it was for satisfaction, marketing, product development or business growth”.