Former Crocs CEO on why e-commerce isn't for every business

Ron Snyder (pictured) made history when he led his former company (a little shoe brand known as Crocs) to what was then the largest IPO in the footwear industry. Crocs listed on the NASDAQ in 2006; Snyder left the company in 2009 and has since dabbled in a number of private ventures, one of which is aiming to conquer the Singapore market.The aforementioned venture is BackJoy Orthotics, a posture-care company. It started with one product in 1984, when the sculptor and industrial designer Preston Willingham developed what is now known as the SitSmart, a portable posture corrector that tilts the spine forward when the user sits on it. Snyder serves as BackJoy’s chairman, while the company’s day-to-day operations are led by CEO Bing Howenstein.Positioning the SitSmart as the brand's introductory product, Howenstein has expanded the company's product lines to include shoes, pillows and sports apparel aimed at correcting posture. We spoke to Snyder and Howenstein to understand what the brand is doing to succeed in Singapore's costly retail environment.BackJoy opened its first standalone boutique in Singapore at Suntec City last June. This is a seemingly odd decision. At our recent Customer Experience conference, Loo Pei Fen, marketing director of Challenger Technologies, called into question the future of physical retail, claiming that malls in Singapore really aren't seeing an increase in traffic. Why, then, did BackJoy see the need to invest in a costly physical retail space?For two reasons: Firstly, its e-commerce business is still only a small part of the business. And secondly, the brand feels that it is crucial for customers to try its product first in order to see its benefit.According to Snyder, e-commerce constitutes less than 5% of the business. This is why the brand hasn't yet invested in the sophisticated technology required to support an international e-commerce operation.Snyder feels that in Singapore, shopping malls are in no danger yet. While department stores in his home country of America are facing serious problems drawing foot-traffic, Asian malls are thriving, at least for the moment, because "here, shopping is a sport...Asia still has people who like to shop, which is why the malls are crowded". He added that in their Hong Kong market, BackJoy doesn't even have e-commerce because it simply isn't worth the trouble yet.Instead, investing a costly retail space makes perfect sense for BackJoy because it allows people to try the product before buying it. Howenstein shared that "people often realise they’ve been sitting wrongly only once they try our products."Further, a high-traffic, mass-market location fit well with the brand's mass-market appeal: "Really, everybody is our potential customer. That’s why stores (such as the one at Suntec City) are important to us – they allow us to be seen by many different people," shared Howenstein. The SitSmart is displayed prominently at the front of the store, inviting passersby to try it out and hopefully buy it.