Retail News CRM

Tag: Castlery

  • Singapore’s Castlery Makes Stylish U.S Entrance with Flagship Store in Manhattan’s Premier Chelsea District

    Singapore’s Castlery Makes Stylish U.S Entrance with Flagship Store in Manhattan’s Premier Chelsea District

    Singaporean furniture company Castlery has launched its debut physical store in the United States, choosing the Chelsea area of Manhattan for its flagship site.

    The 3,000 square foot showroom represents a significant shift for the brand, moving from an e-commerce focus to establishing a permanent brick-and-mortar presence in the U.S. market. The brand’s 10-year lease demonstrates its long-term commitment to this market, rather than a short-term experiment in traditional retail.

    Showroom Design

    Situated in the historic Ladies’ Mile district, the showroom has been thoughtfully designed to cater to urban lifestyles. It showcases 17 room sets that highlight space-efficient layouts, crafted specifically for city apartments.

    The interior design of the space blends Eastern and Western influences, with layered textures and materials like rattan. It also incorporates subtle nods to iconic New York interior design styles.

    Extended Customer Experience

    Beyond showcasing its product line, the showroom will also offer personalized interior styling consultations. This service is part of Castlery’s commitment to expand its customer experience beyond the traditional transactional model of retail.

    Co-founder of Castlery, Declan Ee, emphasized their commitment to the U.S. market. “New York isn’t a place you test, it’s a place you commit,” he stated. “Opening our first U.S. store here reflects how seriously we take the American customer and how seriously we take our craft. This isn’t about doing it fast. It’s about doing it right.”

    The company originally started to explore the possibility of physical retail locations in Manhattan in 2018, prior to its U.S. e-commerce launch. However, these plans were halted due to the pandemic, and efforts were redirected towards strengthening logistics, operations, and enhancing the overall customer experience in preparation for a future physical store.

    In the search for the perfect location, Castlery reviewed over 200 potential sites across a two-year period before ultimately choosing its site in Chelsea. This represents a highly selective approach to its first foray into U.S. retail.

    Last year, Castlery expanded its reach to the European market, launching an e-commerce store in the United Kingdom.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the size of the new Castlery showroom in the U.S.?
    The showroom is 3,000 square feet.

    What additional services will the showroom offer beyond showcasing products?
    The showroom will offer personalized interior styling consultations to its customers.

    When did Castlery first begin considering physical retail locations in the U.S.?
    Castlery first began exploring physical retail opportunities in the U.S. in 2018.

  • Singapore’s Castlery Expands European Footprint With Uk E-commerce Launch And London Pop-up Store

    Singapore’s Castlery Expands European Footprint With Uk E-commerce Launch And London Pop-up Store

    Singaporean home furnishings company, Castlery, has extended its reach by opening an e-commerce store in the United Kingdom. This move signifies the brand’s initial foray into the European marketplace.

    The online store showcases an extensive variety of Castlery’s furniture offerings, inclusive of sofas, dining tables, beds, storage solutions, and items crafted with children in mind. In addition, Castlery is preparing to introduce a pop-up store at the London Design Festival in September.

    Co-founder Declan Ee summed up Castlery’s ethos, stating, “In essence, Castlery offers furnishings for those who value well-designed pieces, but are not prepared to sacrifice their financial stability for an expensive coffee table.”

    Furthering their expansion, Castlery is also set to inaugurate a physical storefront in Brisbane on the 26th of August. This follows the successful establishment of their Sydney store in the previous year.

    Since its inception in 2013, the Singapore-based company has been operating its e-commerce platform across a staggering 100 cities worldwide. These include locations in Singapore, Australia, the United States, Canada, as well as the United Kingdom.

    Questions & Answers

    When and where was Castlery founded?
    Castlery was founded in Singapore in 2013.

    Where is Castlery set to open its next physical store?
    The next physical store will be opened in Brisbane on August 26.

    In which cities does Castlery operate its e-commerce site?
    Castlery operates its e-commerce site in 100 global cities, spanning regions such as Singapore, Australia, the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

  • Online Furniture Retailer Castlery Builds Scalable E-commerce Fulfilment Platform

    Online Furniture Retailer Castlery Builds Scalable E-commerce Fulfilment Platform

    Manhattan Associates today announced that Castlery, the Singapore-based online furniture retailer, has selected Manhattan SCALE as a key component of a business transformation programme to build a world-class order fulfilment capability that will ensure a seamless service experience for customers and drive ongoing business growth.

    Launched in 2013 with a mission to make designer furniture accessible to everyone, Castlery has quickly established itself as a leading furniture and homewares designer in Southeast Asia. In order to meet its target of over 100 percent year-on-year growth, Castlery recognised it needed to invest in an order fulfilment technology that would scale in line with its business growth, ensure service level improvements for customers and drive future sales and margin expansion.

    Castlery selected Manhattan SCALE for its ability to handle the unique logistical challenges associated with furniture retailing and distribution and its proven track record supporting ecommerce and omni-channel operations around the world. With a pressing need to be set up before the peak sales season, Castlery needed the Manhattan fulfilment platform to be live and ready for one of its busiest times of the year. Working closely with the Manhattan team, Castlery successfully completed the solution deployment at its Mapletree Logistics Hub in Toh Guan, Singapore, in under three months, remarkably fast for a first implementation.

    Zhou Zhiwei, Chief Technology Officer at Castlery, commented: “As the leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) and with many companies we admire already using SCALE, Manhattan ticked many boxes. Their experience with solving problems like ours, high calibre teams, and flexible solutions made picking Manhattan as our partner an easy decision.”

    Travers Tan, Chief Operating Officer at Castlery, added: “Since the solution has been deployed, process execution has improved across our entire distribution operation. We’ve hit 99.99 percent inventory accuracy and seen a 23 percent month-on-month increase in order transactions. We now have a complete view of inventory across the distribution network whilst our order-to-delivery cycle times are compressed significantly. Also, the solution is fully integrated with our ERP system, giving us a “live” picture of available inventory for sale and enabling accurate lead-times to be reflected on our website. Because the system can support multiple DCs, it is perfectly suited to our future plans for expansion into overseas markets. The Manhattan solution’s capabilities support our vision to become the leading furniture e-retailer globally.”

    Richard Wright, Managing Director, Southeast Asia, at Manhattan Associates, commented, “Manhattan provides the expertise and technology to help clients deliver on their brand promise. We’re delighted to see Manhattan SCALE already driving order volume growth for Castlery and are confident that Castlery will continue reaping the rewards from our constantly evolving solutions for many years to come.”