- Premium Content It takes our newsroom weeks - if not months - to investigate and produce stories for our premium content. You can’t find them anywhere else.
Samreen Ahmad · · 4 min readHow Prism+ built a profitable business despite missteps
Singapore-based Prism+ is on a winning streak.
Revenue growth has slowed down from earlier highs, but the consumer electronics retailer has been profitable for at least two consecutive years and is even paying dividends to its shareholders. Not bad for a company founded only in 2017.
Photo credit: Prism+, enhanced with the use of Photoshop’s generative fill.
Revenue for the financial year ending March 2023 (FY 2023) increased 14.8% from the previous year, while the cost of sales declined by 2.5%, resulting in higher gross profit.
Founded by NUS Business School alumnus Jonathan Tan, Prism+ started selling products in the home entertainment electronics space and has since expanded to smart home appliances including ceiling fans, refrigerators, air purifiers, and TV stands.
Thanks to this wide range and low costs, the company has enjoyed a surge in annual sales growth. However, the firm’s flagship smart TV product has also attracted mediocre reviews and customer complaints.
How has this comparatively new company, born and bred in Singapore, managed to achieve impressive financial figures – its net profit margin in FY 2023 was double the industry average of 7% – while managing to build what seems like a sustainable business?
Two pillars of prosperity
In a 2023 interview with Vulcan Post, Tan said that the company’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategy and its emphasis on good customer service played a big part in its success.
By embracing a D2C model and cutting out intermediaries such as distributors and other electronic retailers, Prism+ has managed to sell its products at one-third the cost compared to competitors.
See also: D2C in Indonesia: life after TikTok Shop ban and why offline retail still matters
This allowed the company to record significant growth during the early years, with revenue surging 50% in 2021.
Manufacturing its products outside of Singapore has also helped the company cut down on expenses.
The company did not respond to requests sent by Tech in Asia for an interview.
That said, quality concerns have arisen. Numerous complaints have surfaced online regarding the durability of the company’s products.
Turning up the ad volume
Founder retains majority stake
Stay ahead in Asia’s tech landscape
This is premium content. Subscribe to read the full story.
The Singapore-based startup has been profitable for at least two consecutive years and is consistently paying dividends to shareholders.
We know this is not ideal. ⌛ Sign up in 20 seconds. Cancel anytime.
Our subscriber community includes professionals from these companies:
Stay updated on the go with our mobile app.
Get latest insights with smoother, more personalized experience through TIA mobile app.
