Overview

The Presydent Group is a collaboration between Founders Raymond Lim & Jeraldine Chan and techno-entrepreneur Darren Eng (together they are the Senior Executives). Presydent has been in operation for less than three years with 2021 being the first one full year working under the current strategy. Despite this, business has been explosive. After making significant strategic improvements, Presydent generated sales and commissions of S$18.4 million. Presydent is now the largest social media social commerce seller in Singapore. Presydent’s business concept can be describe terms by three words: social commerce; social media; and demand creation. Social Commerce - Presydent’s model sees the group’s influencers and marketeers selling directly to consumers. They do so by creating videos that encourage viewers to respond and interact with their hosts. This channel for sourcing demand is more akin to the old Tupperware parties or the Avon (cosmetics) ladies as opposed to the selling strategy of department stores and online retailers such as Amazon. Social Media - Presydent touches potential customers through social media most notably Tiktok, Facebook, Instagram and other social platforms. Presydent does it through their influencers and by creating interesting clips, sound bites and/or short features. Demand creation - But perhaps what distinguishes Presydent’s business concept the most, is its ability to entice customers by seeking out value-add, hidden or aspirational demand. These include products design for a certain demographic (plant based, no animal testing cosmetics) or a product that the customer was unaware of (a handbag that could be dressed and thus serve for the office, casual use and formal events) or a product very similar to haute courtier that could be sourced directly from a manufacturer at a big discount. Presydent is different from banners and online advertising in that each influencer targets a tightly knit demographic allowing any product video clip to be very focused. While the video is playing, the customer and click a button and make a purchase. Presydent’s selling is factory to consumer (F2C) and can creates demand. Presydent’s strategy is to expand its geographical reach by cooperating with influencers in other countries who are seeking to capitalize on the influence. Presydent specializes in fast-moving consumer products but unlike H&M, Zara, Primark or Uniqlo, Presydent’s product range is tailored for the audience that the influencer speaks to. In the future, Presydent may commission products it cannot source using the demand pull from customers. Meaning that while Presydent has Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam in its sights, what is more important is the influencer they can work with and the demographic that is being targeted (for example, it could be the young Chinese diaspora in the US and EU who are seeking contemporary Oriental inspired western style clothing).