Secretlab

Secretlab is a Singaporean furniture company established by Ian Ang and Alaric Choo in 2014. It primarily designs and manufactures gaming chairs.

This article is about the furniture company. For the video game developer, see Secret Lab. For the animation studio, see The Secret Lab.

Secretlab
TypePrivate limited company
IndustryFurniture
Founded2014 (2014)
Founder
Headquarters
Singapore
Key people
ProductsGaming chairs
Production output
Increase 500,000 chairs[3]
RevenueIncrease S$350 million[4]
Owner
  • Ian Ang (70%)[5]
  • Alaric Choo (25%)[5]
  • Heliconia Capital Management
Number of employees
200+ (2021)[2]
Websitesecretlab.sg

History

Secretlab was founded as a startup company in December 2014[6] by former professional esports players Ian Alexander Ang and Alaric Choo,[7] both of whom specialised in StarCraft II.[8] Its starting capital, which came from the two founders' savings, was S$50,000,[9] and went mostly into research and development.[10] The company's first product was a gaming chair, the Secretlab Throne V1,[9] that was launched in March 2015.[11] Two more chairs, the Throne V2 and the Omega, were released in October 2015.[12] In 2020, the company sold its millionth chair.[13]

In 2020 and 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for the company's chairs rose greatly, partly because of office workers who had to work from home.[4][3] In April 2021,[14] the company unveiled the Magnus, a magnetic metal desk.[15]

Facilities and partners

The company operates its corporate headquarters, a research and development facility, and an esports gaming arena along Braddell Road, Singapore. It also has a factory in China.[16] The company has partnered multiple times with organisers of official esports tournaments, where the partnership involves Secretlab providing chairs for the players.[17] In partnership with HBO, it introduced Game of Thrones-themed gaming chairs.[18]

Sales and finances

In August 2019, Heliconia Capital Management, a subsidiary of the Singaporean wealth fund Temasek Holdings, bought a minority stake in the company, causing its market capitalisation to reach a reported S$200–300 million.[19] Secretlab reported 2020 chair deliveries of "at least" 500,000. For the fiscal year 2020, the annual operating profit and revenue were an estimated S$70 million and S$350 million respectively.[4] In March 2021, Tech in Asia estimated that the company was "within striking distance of surpassing US$1 billion in valuation", thereby making it a unicorn.[4]

Reception of products

PC Gamer named Secretlab's Omega 2020 the best gaming chair of 2019, praising it for its adjustable armrest;[20] the same product was named best gaming chair in 2020 by GamesRadar+.[4][21] T3 called the Magnus the best gaming accessory of 2021,[22] while IGN listed the Titan Evo 2022 as the best gaming chair of 2022.[23] In 2020, there were complaints that the covering of certain chairs sometimes peeled away; Ang commented that this was due to unexpectedly high humidity and that it was being addressed.[5][9]

See also

References
  1. Leong, Grace (30 June 2021). "Secretlab gaming chair co-founder Ian Ang snaps up GCB, penthouse for $51m". The Straits Times. closed access
  2. Goh, Yan Han (25 December 2020). "ST Singaporean of the Year 2020: Secretlab co-founders take gaming chairs to the next level". The Straits Times.
  3. Low, Youjin (2 August 2020). "Covid-19 pandemic a boon for gaming chair maker Secretlab, as demand from home office market grows". Today.
  4. Furtado, Collin (15 March 2021). "Secretlab could be Singapore's next billion-dollar company". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 23 July 2021. closed access
  5. Tan, Sumiko (29 November 2020). "Lunch With Sumiko: One great idea later, Secretlab CEO Ian Ang has 70% stake in multimillion-dollar business". The Straits Times.
  6. Tee, Karen (1 January 2021). "Secretlab Co-Founders Ian Ang and Alaric Choo on the Meteoric Rise of Their Gaming Chair Company". Tatler Singapore.
  7. Lee, U-wen (27 April 2020). "Game on: Secretlab goes from startup to global brand in 5 years". The Business Times.
  8. Hayward, Andrew (21 June 2019). "Secretlab CEO Ian Alexander Ang on His Youthful Education in Gaming and Esports". Esports Observer.
  9. Yap, Cara (28 October 2020). "'I was definitely not a good student': Secretlab co-founder Ian Ang". Channel News Asia.
  10. Bhagat, Rahil (18 November 2015). "Game of Thrones: how two men plan to conquer the world with just chairs". Stuff.
  11. Salim, Zafirah (23 July 2020). "These S'poreans Started Secretlab In Their 20s, Now It's A $300M Global Gaming Chair Company". Vulcan Post.
  12. Ting, Lisabel (28 October 2015). "Hard work building Throne for game". The Straits Times.
  13. Lai, Leila (11 February 2021). "Secretlab: Gaming chairs draw new following". The Business Times.
  14. "Secretlab MAGNUS Metal Desk — The Everyday Modern Computer Desk". Secretlab. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  15. Chokkattu, Julian (19 September 2021). "This Magnetic Desk Is a Neat Freak's Dream". Wired.
  16. Tang, See Kit (31 August 2021). "Secretlab to hire more than 100 employees in Singapore following 'massive growth'". Channel News Asia.
  17. Tan, Sue-Ann (17 March 2020). "Me & My Money: Sitting on a game plan to secure the future". The Straits Times. closed access
  18. "Stark, Targaryen or Lannister? Game Of Thrones-themed gaming chairs launched". Channel News Asia. 3 May 2019.
  19. Choo, Yun Ting (13 August 2019). "Temasek's Heliconia to invest millions in local gaming chair company Secretlab". The Straits Times.
  20. "Hardware of the year awards 2019". PC Gamer. 16 December 2019.
  21. Brendan Griffiths, Rob Dwiar, Benjamin Abbott (8 October 2020). "The GamesRadar Hardware Awards 2020 winners have just been announced". GamesRadar+.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. Jones, Robert (10 June 2021). "T3 Awards 2021: all the Gaming award winners announced". T3. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  23. Lee, Kevin; Abraham, Danielle (15 May 2022). "Best Gaming Chairs 2022". IGN. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.