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