INTERNET has changed the way people connect, even business transactions.
Recognizing the fast-changing business landscape, this Davao-based online enterprise continues to seize the vast opportunities offered by e-commerce.
Inday Michiko, a brand line of collectibles has been in the business for over a year and it continues to thrive.
“The e-commerce platform right now is undergoing drastic changes so we’re pretty excited about it,” Vicky De Guzman, one of the owners of Inday Michiko said.
The collectible online store, which opened last August 2015, is based on the Kawaii segment of Japanese popular culture. Its products include stickers, gifts, stationery, school supplies and other accessories.
Collectible stickers and tote bags are two of the shop’s best-sellers.
Their product prices range from P20 (stickers per piece) to P550 (tote bags).
Who is Inday Michiko? De Guzman described Inday Michiko as a fictional character created by Singapore-based designer Pawlo Pascual.
“It is inspired mainly by both Japanese pop culture as well as Philippine history, both seen in Davao's Japanese-Filipino community, the Nikkei Jins. Inday Michiko is a little girl dressed in typical Filipiniana (barong terno),” she said.
With its product line, most of the company’s customers are college students and those in the early-to-mid 20 year-old age bracket.
De Guzman shared that though they originally planned to make the company only as an online stationery shop, plans of establishing consignment stores in Davao City, Singapore and Nogata in Japan next year emerged as they received a number of requests for a physical retail shop.
She added since their business presence are online, their market profiles are not limited in Davao City but also extends to Singapore and Japan.
“It’s definitely much bigger there (Singapore and Japan), but with many big brands already present, competition is stiff as well. We are very optimistic about the idea of establishing physical stores next year,” De Guzman said.
At present, De Guzman said, logistics is one of their biggest challenges in operating their online business.
On January 2017, the shop is set to re-launch its website.