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GET YOUR T-SHIRT FROM A VENDING MACHINE – The Star

Apart from soft drinks and snacks, you can now get T-shirts from your neighbourhood vending machine.

It's not a bird, it’s not a plane ... it’s a T-shirt vending machine!

Joy Nandy, founder and inventor of Social Network Merchandise.com, aims to change the retail landscape with his ingenious idea of compacting a conventional shop into a mere vending machine.

“It’s like a UFO has just landed in Malaysia. A complete attention grabber. Just get the product in front of your eyes and the rest falls in place,” chuckles Nandy on the effectiveness of the machine.

A genuine Malaysian creation, the country’s first T-shirt vending machine can be found garnering attention from curious shoppers at the cinema at Curve Shopping Centre in Mutiara Damansara, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. His reasoning for this placement is due to the fact that thousands of people go to the cinema each day.

      

Based on the viral social network media, the T-shirts are designed with words such as “Like”, “It’s Complicated”, “In a Relationship” and “Add as Friend”, displayed in various sizes and styles.

“You don’t have to worry about choosing the wrong shirt,” explains Nandy. “While the sizes are pretty generic, the machine’s panels clearly spell out the measurements you need. Plus, there’s a measuring tape for you to double check the sizes.”

This surprisingly non-Facebook addict adds that the T-shirts are unique because it is basically wearing your real life status. Amusingly, the most popular T-shirt is the one that simply states “Single”.

Since its inception last November, the machine has yet to receive any complaints.

Priced at RM35 per T-shirt, Nandy sees no reason for it not to be a hit. “I’m my own biggest critic. Quality-wise, the product has to satisfy my standards before it sees production,” states the visionary guy. “Feel the sample cloth and judge for yourself.”

With the pilot project achieving lift-off and roughly RM5,500 earned in the span of a month, Social Network Merchandise.com is now making franchise offers for the vending machine at RM55,000 for early birds instead of the normal price of RM88,000.

“You start making money from day one as it is a ready-made shop. The initial capital is actually the franchise,” continues Nandy, “The best thing is you don’t have to be there! No maintenance and staff are required as it is based on the latest technology.”

Profits are split in a 60:40 ratio, with the franchise buyer pocketing the 40%. According to him, recovery of capital should roughly take two years, subject to the location. Given the high public interest, Nandy hopes that the business will continue to grow and prosper.

The business model has generated buzz among companies with roughly RM1.5mil worth in investments currently under negotiations. Targeting at least 500 machines nationwide by the end of 2014, Nandy is happy to note that machines are being prepared for Britain and Ireland.

A man who has dabbled in various fields, Nandy started off in the publishing business before going into the advertising industry. He spent about 10 years in London as a lecturer in advertising and marketing before returning to Malaysia to work as the marketing director and then, vice president of a property development company.

After leaving the company due to the recession, Nandy set up Social Network Merchandise that sold social network-inspired T-shirts online. Nandy soon realised that Malaysians didn’t have the culture of buying products online and decided to open a shop in Damansara Perdana. This led to staff recruitment and retention problems.

Nandy considers his concept of a labour-free shop “the solution to overcome the human resource problem”, a challenge faced by most industries.
Due to travelling road-shows and its support of various charities, Social Network Merchandise T-shirts have become a common sight in the Klang Valley.


With drinks, snacks and now T-shirts available, the company aims to develop vending machines to dispense caps and button badges, among other things.

“If you have your own brand or products, we offer our machines on a rental or sales basis as we fully support entrepreneurship,” adds Nandy, paving an exciting possibility for more “exotic” products to be dispensed.

Franchisees have the option of placing the vending machine on their own premises or in a location of choice. However, Nandy does use “professional locators” to aid his customers with the placement of their “shop”. Upon buying the franchise, the franchisee gets a complimentary stock of 128 T-shirts worth RM4,480. Subsequently, they can stock the machine themselves, or make use of Nandy’s replenishing service for a small price.

The idea first occurred to Nandy when he was buying a soft drink from a vending machine. After making calls to many local manufacturers who found his idea of a T-shirt dispensing machine laughable, Nandy finally found a manufacturer who was willing to consider the possibilities. And voila! Joy Machines was born.

This custom-made vending machine costs RM45,000 each due to its unique design. According to Nandy, “there never was a more beautifully-made machine”. Making a difference, one machine at a time, Nandy hopes the concept of T-shirt dispensing machines will make its presence felt.

“The future of businesses cannot be devoid of technology, automation, innovation and the cyberspace. With ideas like these, I hope people will be inspired to think more and help the nation develop,” concludes Nandy.

Enquiry can be directed to socialnetworkmerchandise.com. - By ALICIA NICHOLLE NG E-LYN and KYLE CHAN WEI REN

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