Angel Investor Gets Into RedMart Singapore

By | 17 January, 2012

Former Skype founding engineer Toivo Annus backed another Singaporean startup in RedMart Singapore this Monday. RedMart Singapore makes a nice spot for itself among the 12 startups (and counting) Toivo has invested in so far — and the online grocery site provides same or next day delivery for free if the tab comes up to S$ 75 (US$ 58.45). With a reorder and reminder feature, customers will be prompted to stock up on their supply of rice or detergent (or any essential product on the shopping list) before they run out.

The signup process includes a “family size” question, so the boffins at RedMart included the consumption calculator for each household to determine reordering reminders. The company claims its prices will be competitive with the current crop of online grocery sites in Singapore because of its partnerships with the manufacturers.

Toivo Takes a Stake

Toivo is always keen on funding and investing in startups that pique his interests:

  • Consumer-focused home utility monitoring solutions – both hardware and software
  • Non-standard payment platforms, eg mobile users, un-banked users.
  • VOIP and related technologies
  • Emerging market web services for consumers

Fresh Produce Dilemma

RedMart has yet to solve the logistical complication of selling and delivering fresh produce, so they won’t sell these items for now. Co-founder and CEO Roger Egan says the company would rather not get into this business for now until logistics have been ironed out. “We won’t do anything unless we can do it well,” he says

While some Singaporean online stores offer fresh produce — such as Cold Storage and Fair Price, RedMart prefers to focus on the market they can efficiently and effectively cater to. The US$ 4.2 Billion annual sales in Singapore for the dry goods and groceries section is no small potato, so RedMart opted to go for a piece of that pie than tangling with the fruits, veggies and fresh meat logistics conundrum.

Rates and Functions

While delivery rates are a bit steeper than Household.sg, the RedMart site welcomes customers with up to 70% discount from products in its RedDealz section, plus a 15% discount off the first order.  Household.sg offers free delivery at S$40 purchases (S$7 delivery charge for orders under S$40), compared to free delivery at S$75 spent at RedMart. RedMart charges S$5 for orders between S$50 and S$70, and S$10 delivery charge for orders under S$50.

Tips and tricks on the “Did you know” box offer a reprieve while you try to remember what else you need to buy in RedMart. They need additional tips and tricks though — six or so just aren’t enough. The option to include several top brands when selecting products under a main category is priceless — just click the brand name to include its products in the search results, wait for the refresh, and you can sort the list by name or price. RedMart even encourages customers to suggest products not in their current lineup, improving the site’s personalization points even more.

At the end of the day, money talks. No matter how innovative a shopping site is, customers will always pick the one with the most savings. That’s unless the delivery service is rubbish — in which case, it’s still going to be an open field.



READ MORE