This startup makes it easier to find luxury gifts in Asia

Photo credit: John Hickey-Fry

You know that sickening feeling you get in your stomach when you’re not able to get the Hermes scarf your wife wanted in time for Valentine’s day? I certainly wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of that earful.

Enter GiftsLessOrdinary. The Singapore-based startup, which launched roughly three months ago, is a marketplace for high-end, luxury gifts. Many of the products on the site can be personalized for that special occasion, a feature which is one of its differentiating factors.

Currently, the startup only ships to addresses in Singapore and Hong Kong, but expansion to other countries in Asia is on the horizon. On the site you can find a number of diverse categories, such as wine & cheese, stationery, art & photography, and grooming. Gifts are also neatly bifurcated according to occasions, including Christmas, Chinese New Year, and Valentine’s Day.

“What we’re trying to do is introduce things you can’t find easily in Asia,” explains Amy Read, co-founder of GiftsLessOrdinary. “Things like personalized jewelry, luxury goods, and art.”

Different from the rest

Amy believes the marketplace distinguishes itself from other competitors, such as Lazada, by catering to a specific niche and not simply advertising “mass market products.” The selection of products is curated and has to correspond to specific internal requirements.

“It’s about high-end brands. We ensure that on the product side there aren’t many similar items. Our focus is that we want to pick the best quality products […] in a boutique style,” she adds.

Amy Read

While these are still early days for the startup, Amy says they’re working with 23 partner brands, 70 percent of which are from the UK. As a result, most items ship in seven to 10 days, as the startup holds no inventory and all goods are sent from partner companies directly. However, shipping fees are largely included in the price, with the exception of larger, bulkier items, so that consumers don’t have nasty surprises at checkout.

The most popular categories are gifts that can be personalized, such as jewelry and fashion accessories. Amy says consumers don’t mind waiting a bit to receive their orders and have generally been very satisfied with the experience. Sales have doubled on a month-on-month basis since launch.

“For us, there’s real opportunity in Asia to bring personalized and different goods to the mainstream,” she adds.

While the startup’s current clientele consists mainly of expatriates, who account for 70 percent of total orders, Amy says future plans are to cater to a wider variety of tastes. The startup is aiming to double the number of partner brands within the next month, as well as concentrate on upcoming events like the Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day.

Only orders that are paid for in advance are processed. Cash-on-delivery isn’t an option right now, and it’s not clear whether it will ever be.