Behind the glamour of power couple's new Orchard Road boutique

Stepping into Lovelots, Orchard Central's shiny new gem, is an experience that leaves one mesmerised.

Highly coveted handbags from Hermes to Chanel sit regally on gleaming display shelves, beckoning visitors with their allure. Plush cushion seats adorn a sleek interior, making the store all the more inviting.

Lovelots is helmed by Peter Ang, 36, and Zhennie Tan, 35, who celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary this year. But equally worth commemorating is the opening of Lovelots’ new space in the heart of Orchard Road.

Looking at the swanky boutique’s extensive collection of designer handbags, few would guess that what is now a bustling business started as a one-man show in Ms Tan’s humble abode. 

Ms Tan told TNP that it all started as a hobby when she was a student in 2008. Having always been interested in fashion, she would sell her clothes and shoes at flea markets. At that time, it cost around $70 to $80 to rent a booth and she could make a profit of over $100 per day. 

Using these earnings, she pursued her love for designer handbags by buying them through online platforms like eBay and secondhand shops in Far East Plaza.

"I was nervous whenever buying from somebody because I wanted to know the bag was genuine before I made my purchase, but there no one I could look for," recounted Ms Tan.

Despite it being a process that took "a lot of courage and research" due to difficulty in authentication and her lack of experience, Ms Tan soon fell in love with the idea of buying and reselling luxury goods.

Not only was it a good way for her to own many different bags, it also proved to be a profitable side hustle through polytechnic, university and eventually, marriage.

She began peddling her wares on Carousell in 2014. As her reputation grew, other users started approaching Ms Tan for help in selling their products and paid for her services. Ms Tan credits this to her knack for photography and the level of detail in her listings.

She explained: "I always like to state as clearly as possible what are the flaws or what you can expect from this product. A lot of sellers find that they cannot take pictures like that, or they cannot provide info like that, so they seek my help to do it on their behalf."

Thus, the idea of offering consignment services was born.

Ms Tan eventually set up a modest office showroom in Jurong, but it was not long before she ran out of space as business continued to boom. She also found that people wanted to view the goods before making a purchase, rendering her office setting less than ideal.

This led Lovelots to Triple One, which provided customers with a retail-like experience. However, the issue of space cropped up once again. 

Earlier this month, Lovelots unveiled its newest location at Orchard Central. The grand opening was attended by local celebrities such as Jack Neo, Terence Cao, Henry Thia and Chen Xiuhuan.

Today, Lovelots has evolved into a multifaceted enterprise, encompassing luxury goods reseller Lovelotsluxury, bespoke jeweller Lovelotsdiamond, and livestreaming arm Lovelotslive.

A journey fraught with challenges

But it has not all been a bed of roses, the couple revealed.

Challenges that they have faced include scams, impersonators misusing the Lovelots brand name, difficult clients "who just want to get a reaction from you" and those who bring in counterfeit products - both knowingly and unknowingly. The last is especially prevalent now that there are "really good fakes" which the naked eye cannot identify.

It has also gotten harder to strike a balance between work and family as the business grows. Now that Lovelots is situated in a shopping mall, they are required to operate seven days a week, leaving Mr Ang and Ms Ang with even less time for their two young children.

Nevertheless, the couple hope that their new boutique can see increased footfall from the offline crowd. This would in turn grant Lovelots more visibility and be less reliant on social media, where they already have a significant following.

This is an even more pressing issue today as technology has proven to be a double-edged sword, noted Mr Ang.

He said: "The whole market is always changing and it’s even faster for an e-commerce company like ourselves as compared to a brick-and-mortar business. 

"Nowadays, you have all the different social media platforms. But the viewers on these different platforms are all from different age groups and what they want to see are all different as well.

"We need to think of ways to engage all of them. Otherwise, we will lose our traction and we will not grow."

While technological advancement has enhanced life, it has also made the ecosystem more tedious and resulted in a lot more work to be done than before, highlighted Mr Ang.

He added: "Previously, we just had to upload photos and things could get sold. But now, you need photos, you need videos, you need model shots. Clients actually request more things now than before. The requirement to sell a simple item is so much more.

"People can see videos, people want interaction, people watch a livestream and have questions. So yes, there’s improvement but people want to see more well-rounded things now. There’s a lot more work now compared to what we were doing five years ago."

How they complement each other

Still, it’s easy to see why the pair make the perfect team.

With her keen eye for design and acute sense of the latest trends, Ms Tan is a natural at anything to do with fashion, design and aesthetics.

Meanwhile, Mr Ang brings business acumen to the table and plays a greater role in the company’s overall direction and expansion.

Ms Tan shared: "Peter is more calm, so he can always handle people better. I’m more into the work itself than the customer front of things. I'm also more emotional and fast-paced, always feeling like I cannot afford to waste time because there's so much to do."

Mr Ang said of his wife: "Zhennie is very particular about the service and the quality that we give to clients. It makes us a good team and is what the whole company should be like."

Ms Tan added: "In a way, I have more aesthetic sense on how we present things because I was an architecture student, so I am always very into design. I know what colours should match, what colours do not match and all these things."

Her commitment to service excellence, meticulousness and detail-oriented approach is indeed clear to all: Scroll through Lovelotsluxury's website and Instagram page, and you can see how elaborate each listing is, along with photos and descriptions of any flaws.

"Peter is more about the bigger picture, while I’m the one zooming into the details," said Ms Tan, noting that her husband takes care of things such as branching out into new ventures, potential collaborations and experimentation. 

"We will try out all these things because he says we should, otherwise I would still be in Jurong, managing my own pool of clients."

Despite being one of the more prominent names in the industry, the couple insist that they are still at the "learning stage" and far from being successful.

Mr Ang said: "There will always be people who are ahead of us and bigger than us. But I think when we can satisfy more customers than other people can, giving them more happiness in their purchase or buying experience, I think we are happy in that field."

Ms Tan added: "As a company, we must always think that there are people who are better than us, then we can perform better, then we can live up to people’s standards.

"Although we know we may never do that, we must always look forward to being better so that we can upgrade ourselves. If you always think that you are the best, you will never get better."