#048 Re Pillow Co.'s 2 Worst Decisions (30/04/2023)

Hello everyone, welcome to this week's journal! As mentioned in the title, this week I want to write about the two worst decisions I made during the years I worked at Re Pillow Co.

Let me give you a little backstory: I started researching pillows in 2020, and by the end of the year, I had made a finished product for myself (and later made a few more for friends who wanted them). Encouraged by friends, I created a website, repillow.co (it wasn't as fancy back then; it was very simple, with descriptions and an ordering system), and launched my pillows for sale. For the first six months, hardly anyone paid attention. Then, in August 2021, I designed and produced Re Pillow 2. Re Pillow 2 started to get some attention, and by the end of 2021, it became popular. The media even interviewed me, wanting to know the story of "a student making pillows." In mid-2022, I graduated and devoted myself full-time to working at Re Pillow Co., which I am now.

During this process, there were two decisions that I think were wrong:

#1 I spend too much time running my daily work, constantly busy, but new product launches are too slow.

Actually, I've always had to handle all the work at Re Pillow Co., including writing articles, placing advertisements, counting, packing orders, answering customer inquiries, installing and delivering goods, providing after-sales service, following up on product production progress, and collaborating with new manufacturers... All of this has made me constantly busy every day, with very little time to sit down and do things like designing new products. Of course, I have done some of those things, but because other work takes up the vast majority of my time every day, I simply don't have enough time to do them.

Around the end of last year, Ben (a colleague/former classmate) gradually took on more work, and I also spent more time putting aside my usual hectic work to focus on new products. Although from the end of last year to today, we've experienced the opening of the iSQUARE store in Tsim Sha Tsui and the relocation of the Taikoo store on Hong Kong Island to the Harbour City store in North Point, overall, we've spent a lot more time on products, preparing new ones. In the long run, this allows for product improvement and provides customers with more variety to choose from, giving them more options and helping the company stabilize its revenue. However, buying products to resell is easy, but researching, designing, and manufacturing products ourselves is difficult and time-consuming. Since we've chosen this path, we must persevere.

#2 Despite insufficient funds and time, two stores were opened after signing the contract.

As I write this (April 2023), we are simultaneously operating a store in iSQUARE, Tsim Sha Tsui, and a store in Harbour City, North Point. At this moment, I believe operating two stores at the same time was a mistake. Opening a store requires renovations and hiring staff, resulting in quite high monthly running costs. Adding to the problem I mentioned earlier, even if someone wanted to buy something from us, they wouldn't be able to find it. Furthermore, bedding has a long lifespan, making the business even more difficult.

At the time of signing the contract, we felt that the business could support it, so we made that decision. But when the off-season came, we realized that it might not have been the best decision. In addition, the retail industry has been facing a severe labor shortage in the past year or two, and wages are on the rise, which has the biggest impact on our small company.

Because Re Pillow Co. doesn't have external funding, expansion can't be too rapid. We must be careful with our funds to avoid incurring too many future expenses. If I had to make that decision again, I would be more cautious and wouldn't open two shops. Of course, that would mean slower growth, but since product launches are slow, we should "not try to do too much with too little" and open one shop first. Nothing lasts forever.

Two shops mean two salaries, two rents, and two renovation costs. All things considered, the total isn't small. If I had to make the decision again, I'd probably open only one shop in a mall with higher foot traffic. The rent would be a bit higher, but I'd only have to pay for one set of labor and renovation costs, so the total would be less than it is now. Another advantage of having only one shop is that management would be easier. Our so-called "Re Pillow team," besides the store staff, consists of just Ben and me. We handle everything: product research, moving goods, shipping, sending via SF Express, answering customer inquiries, contacting suppliers, ordering materials, designing store decorations, liaising with different partners, testing products, advertising, and accounting. Basically, it's all done by Ben and me. So, if I had to choose again, one shop would be too much; we simply don't have the capacity or the ability to handle all that work.

Conclusion

One can't keep looking back forever; keep trying. Success is inevitable, nothing is set in stone. The most important thing is to learn from mistakes, correct them, and move on.