#044 The Last Night at Taikoo (02/04/2023)

March 30, 2023, was the last day of our first store, the Taikoo Shing store, as shown in the picture. The Taikoo Shing store, formerly known as "Taikoo Shing Experience Center," was renamed after the opening of the iSQUARE store in Tsim Sha Tsui, but essentially it's the same—a small 180-square-foot pop-up store. It officially opened on March 10, 2022, and has never closed except for a four-day break for the Lunar New Year, so it's been open for a year now. I'll write about it in this week's journal.

I remember it was January 2022 when Swire Properties' leasing department emailed me an invitation, asking if Re Pillow Co. was interested in opening a pop-up store in Taikoo Shing. Taikoo Shing was quite far from my usual neighborhood, and although I had heard of it, I had never actually been there. But the idea of ​​trying out a pop-up store in a shopping mall excited me so much that I was studying at home at the time. An hour after receiving the email, I rushed to Taikoo Shing by myself to check out the location. I still remember walking around for a while, looking at the surroundings, and even on my way home, I was still wondering if I should go ahead with it. Because I was really scared.

I was so scared that when I got home it was clearly dinnertime, I didn't eat and just sat there thinking.

Should we go open a shop or not?

Oh, I don't remember the background. Back then, Re Pillow wasn't as well-known as it is now (although it still isn't). I was just doing online orders and selling my pillows at Yat Tin Department Store in Sha Tin. I'm worried it's all just a "hype." With online orders, when there are no orders, I don't keep track, and the running costs are manageable—it's a flexible approach. But opening a physical store is different. A store requires hiring staff, paying wages, and rent. I can't just say, "No business this month, so I won't pay wages or rent." Would opening a physical store be too risky? Would the income be enough to support it? I'm worried about all these issues. I'm both ambitious and cautious, but I know myself, and I really want to try.

Later, I learned that the lease was for three months, which seemed to provide an upper limit on costs, giving me peace of mind. Therefore, I naturally accepted the offer and opened this shop. The mall was also very kind, inviting us to renew the lease for another year, so it didn't expire until March of this year. This is the story of opening a store at Re Pillow.

I will continue to work hard in the future, overcome my fears, and not limit myself. I hope I can truly do this well. I hope that one day when everyone looks back, they will feel that it was all worth it.