How Singapore activewear brand Kydra started with a search for better gym shorts (2024)

When fitness enthusiast Jimmy Poh could not find shorts that securely held his phone and important cards during his gym and tennis sessions, he decided he had to make his own.

It was born out of necessity. Poh, who was in 2015 doing his business management degree in London, recalled having to trudge to and from the gym after he found himself without a card that gave him access to his dormitory. It slipped out of his pocket unnoticed.

“Our gym was 10 minutes away. We walked back and forth in negative (temperatures). It was disgusting,” he told CNA.

Along with fellow Singaporean and housemate Wong Dingyao, he designed bottoms with roomy pockets and zips that would ensure he would not be stuck in such a situation again.

Poh and Wong found Singapore suppliers to make the product.

Around the same time, there was a business competition at Reading University where they were studying, and they decided to test if their concept had a market.

The duo put it up on crowdfunding site Indiegogo and raised US$10,000.

They came in third in the competition, and returned home in 2017 after their studies.

Wong - who studied investment banking and finance - and Poh looked for jobs and got offers, but they could not stop thinking and talking about the product they had created.

They decided to give their business idea a go, which saw the beginning of homegrown activewear label Kydra.

“We went to our parents and told them ‘look, we are employable. So maybe you give us two years, we try this first.’ If we fail, then at least we tried and then we have a better CV,” said Poh.

STEEP LEARNING CURVE

Within about one-and-a-half years, Poh started drawing a modest salary of about S$1,000.

“We were seeing the company grow and we were getting very good feedback about the brand, in terms of people liking our products,” he said.

Today, about seven years later, Kydra is a million-dollar business.

The process was “definitely difficult”, and they initially underestimated the challenges, Poh told CNA938’s Life&Style’s Made in Singapore segment.

“At the beginning, we thought it was easy for sure. I mean, how hard could it be to design shorts right? But soon, we were thrown into harsh reality,” he said.

Without knowing the basics, the learning curve was steep as they discovered how to create a blueprint for their products, all about fabrics and the differences between stitching activewear and other types of clothes.

Till today, the pair design the products themselves, with help from the females around them to come up with women’s activewear.

Poh and his partners also got to learn the challenge of operating a physical store. They opened it in Takashimaya Shopping Centre on Orchard Road in 2022 but shut down a year later.

For the first eight months, business was good, said Poh. However, sales took a hit after that.

“We spotted it a bit early. We realised that okay, maybe better for us not to keep and sustain retail. Our retail business wasn't suited (for it),” he said, adding that the overheads did not make sense for them.

FOCUSING ON SUSTAINABILITY

Kydra sometimes gets requests from customers to be more sustainable, said Poh.

While his firm wants to use sustainable fabrics, it can be difficult to find one that is up to the mark for sportswear, he said.

They use recycled polyester when they can, he said.

“Sometimes, what's available to us at the moment is either too expensive, so we can't keep the prices affordable or it just doesn't meet the standard,” he said.

The material they choose is very specific to what they need it to do when a person is exercising, he said.

“It has to wick sweat a certain way, it has to feel a certain way, stretch in a certain way,” Poh said, adding that the longevity of the material is also a factor for consideration.

“In turn, what we try to do is create products that are sustainable by being long-lasting,” he said, adding that there are some customers who are still using pieces they bought seven years ago.

Their poly mailers that the items are delivered in are biodegradable and they try to use less plastic, he said.

STANDING OUT IN A CROWDED SPACE

When asked how Kydra stands out in a space that is crowded with popular international brands, he said “it is quite difficult and can be quite intimidating”.

The firm is focused on tackling its niche, and creates products for the Asian and Singaporean fit, he said.

He added that the fabric of the clothes is suited for tropical weather, and prides on the products being functional and versatile.

“We kind of carved our own space in the market,” he said.

For instance, the firm came up with a custom fabric for leggings that cool down quickly.

“This stemmed from us buying leggings from international brands and realising they're super thick. And when we put it on, it basically feels like a sauna inside,” Poh said.

He added that the brand caters to all ages, and many customers are young seniors.

He also gets requests for some products to come in different sizes. There were several requests for their sports bras- one of their bestsellers - to come in a smaller size, which led them to offer it, he said.

“Having more sizes across the board, being more accessible to multiple shapes and sizes, in different lengths (is part of the plan),” he said.

“(When) we reach a point where we are large enough to accommodate, we will accommodate.”

Life&Style with Melanie Oliveiro airs weekdays, 2pm on CNA938.