Fresh blood for new seasons

Love, Bonito's rapid expansion plans has meant a need for talent, especially in the area of technology.

Its owners, who admit they are "not the most tech-savvy people", found that quality in Mr Eugene Liang, 32.

The former user experience engineer lead at ride-hailing app Grab joined the company last month as its head of product, after the brand approached him.

He says: "I checked with five of my female friends and all of them knew the brand and had purchased something from it and I thought that was quite unusual."

He adds that brands usually get recall from two or three customers out of five, on average. "I thought maybe (the job offer) was something worth exploring."

He added that Love, Bonito owned the brand, with its own in-house designers and manufacturers.

"So from a tech point of view, there's so much value that I can add to the company," he says, adding that he has been tasked to improve Love, Bonito's mobile website, among other things.

He also plans to strengthen the brand's tech infrastructure to support its expansion and use artificial intelligence to smoothen back-end processes such as the handling of inventory.

Another recent star hire is Love, Bonito's new chief commercial officer Dione Song, previously the regional director of marketing at Sephora South-east Asia. The 29-year-old was also a former managing director at online fashion marketplace Zalora.

The aim at Love, Bonito, she says, is to help the company "get to another level" as it expands internationally.

The Singaporean is also exploring Western markets for expansion opportunities as she currently sees a gap in those markets - a lack of fashion options and sizes for Asian women there.

As to what attracted her to Love, Bonito, she says it is the co-founders' passion for the brand and business.

"If there's a complaint or compliment, Rachel knows when it comes in," she says, referring to co-founder Rachel Lim, 30.

"That is how close to the business they are and they are truly and genuinely concerned about the customers and what they are saying."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on July 20, 2017, with the headline Fresh blood for new seasons. Subscribe