Entrepreneurs Surviving and Thriving Through the Pandemic
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit our shores in early 2020 and the country initiated the Movement Control Order (MCO), many businesses couldn’t weather the subsequent storm of being put on lockdown. Especially with extension after extension of the MCO, preventing businesses big and small from earning any income while still incurring costs such as rentals, overheads and employee salaries.
Some businesses supplemented their income by putting more focus on their online sales. While others like online food delivery services, actually grew to fill in new niches that resulted as a result of the pandemic.
We caught up with an enterprise that managed to not only survive those pandemic days which saw so many other businesses go under, but it even grew during that time.
Imagine an entirely white floral bouquet that is simple yet beautiful. It is outstanding even against a totally white backdrop. No fancy accessories, just beauty in its purest form.
That is the dream and also the inspiration for White On White, a floral gifting brand that started a couple years before the pandemic. Headquartered in Ipoh, it navigated through those turbulent times and even expanded to now having a store in George Town, Penang and PJ SS2, Selangor.
Founded in 2018 by Mr. Thong Weng Seng, he took his 18 years of experience in the floral industry, to establish White On White, a floral gifting brand which offers bespoke bouquets. Each bouquet is meticulously curated by hand to ensure that every order made by the customer isn’t just a “product”, but is a creation with a unique experience. The bouquets offered by White On White are elegant and stylish, consisting of exquisite blooms, all wrapped and ready for the customer.
How was White On White able to navigate through those treacherous economic landscapes? They were able to identify the problems faced by their clients and offered up the right solutions.
To begin with, it was very difficult for customers to find high quality, premium flower bouquets when they needed to. There were simply not many channels available, especially for the people of Ipoh at the time. Many storefronts had to close their doors during the Movement Control Order. While many florists were still in business, many had to do their business freelance while based at home.
On top of that, it was almost impossible for customers to find a place that could provide premium flower bouquets on short notice. If you think about it, many occasions that require floral gifts tend to come with short notice. Such as sudden promotions or marriage engagements. Sadly, flowers are needed for condolences as well, particularly during that period.
To fulfil these market requirements, White On White focused on making sure that their service was easily accessible to anyone and everyone, through their 3 main channels. Their physical stores in Ipoh, George Town and PJ SS2, their online store, and through their social media platforms such as their Facebook. In this way, they ensured that their customers had multiple avenues to procure premium flower bouquet services for their needs. Whether they visited the White On White stores in person, shopped from their PCs or even ordered from their phones.
Crucially, White On White provided same day delivery. So that their customers could get the flowers they needed, even if their orders were placed on the same day.
By identifying the market needs and offering solutions, they didn’t just survive, but thrived during a very difficult time of the economy. And we’re seeing more businesses adapting and making use of platforms like Shopee to cater to the current customer landscape.
About White On White
They focus on 3 main categories. Beautiful bouquets for celebrating birthdays. Premium presentations, as a show of congratulations. And tasteful floral arrangements, to comfort those who require condolences. But they also offer floral gifts for housewarmings, weddings, as decorations for product launchings, or to encourage loved ones to ‘get well’, and other types of occasions.
Their vision is to deliver premium bouquets and happiness to global cities, and their mission is simply to make life beautiful.
For that reason, their current focus is to continue improving their products and services as they aim to expand to more cities throughout Malaysia. Currently, their flower delivery coverage areas include Ipoh, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya, Seremban and Johor Bharu.
White On White can be reached on their website:
https://whiteonwhite.co/my/ where customers can view the selection of floral arrangements available as well as find the right choice to suit their budget.
Their branches can be found at the following:
Ipoh (Headquarter)
Address: No. 126, Jalan Sultan Yusof, 30000, Ipoh, Perak.
Phone number: +60 17-677 5783
Petaling Jaya
Address: 98, Jalan SS 2/75, SS 2, 47300, Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Phone number: +60 12-677 5602
George Town
Address: No. 62, Jalan Dato Keramat, 10150, George Town, Penang
Phone number: +60 17-677 5691
by KT Leong
