Chinese brands use S'pore as launchpad for overseas expansion

The Republic is strategically located and has an affluent, tech-savvy population

- Rosalind Ang

Walk past any Pop Mart store these days, and you will likely find a crowd of shoppers inside with "blind boxes" in their hands, each containing a mystery toy.

In June, the Chinese toymaker launched snack-themed Labubu dolls, which drew a queue of some 160 fans at its Ion Orchard store, with some showing up even before dawn.

Pop Mart, which opened its first flagship store in South-east Asia at Funan mall in Singapore in 2021, has quickly expanded to about 10 stores across the island.

Chinese carmaker BYD entered Singapore's passenger vehicle market in 2022 and has captured 20 per cent of the market share in about three years.

Throw into the mix platforms such as Taobao and Xiaohongshu, electronics brands Xiaomi and Oppo, and popular food and beverage chains Haidilao, Luckin Coffee and Chagee, and it is clear that Chinese brand presence is fast deepening in Singapore.

Mr Eric Tan, a lecturer at Nanyang Polytechnic's School of Business Management, said Chinese brands are making their mark here in many sectors, including the automotive, retail, e-commerce and F&B sectors.

Several brands have even used Singapore as a launchpad to expand into other countries, as the Republic is strategically located and has an affluent, tech-savvy population.

Singapore stood out for tea brand Chagee as a gateway to South-east Asia. The company first entered the Singapore market in 2019, and now has 18 stores located across the island.

"We took some time to refine our model and officially re-entered with a refreshed approach in 2024, opening our flagship store at Orchard Gateway in August 2024," said Mr Jonathan Ng, director of government and public affairs for Chagee Asia-Pacific.

Chagee is currently present in several key South-east Asian markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam, operating more than 200 stores. The tea brand will also launch its first store in the Philippines later in August.