Wandering around Thailand’s well-known shopping street Siam Square, it’s hard to miss the large flagship store with the Gentlewoman logo and a steady flow of customers carrying its branded bags. This is not an uncommon sight. Two years ago, the brand’s signature bag was spotted everywhere in Singapore, from shopping malls to the streets. In fact, its popularity has reached such heights that an entire Instagram page has been dedicated to capturing and sharing sightings of these fashionable bags in various locations across Singapore. Despite its popularity in the region, however, not many people know the story behind the famous Thai fashion brand. Many believe its popularity was born from the endorsement of Thai celebrities, others think it is because of social media. The true story behind the brand was somewhat a mystery.The long journeyFounded in June 2018 by Raya Wannapinyo, Jitpon Siriwattanamathangkul and Siripa Rueangwutthisakulchai, Gentlewoman’s journey started with a modest location on the B1 floor of Siam Square One.Siriwattanamathangkul said that, while none of the three co-founders had a fashion background, they all decided to found Gentlewoman, as they wanted to start with something they loved and have less risk.“When we started, it was quite difficult because we had little experience. We initially picked the wrong location. It started in the basement, opposite a popular multi-brand cosmetic store called Eveandboy. We thought being opposite them would attract customers,” the co-founder said.“Since it’s the basement, there was no circulating traffic. People were going to the large cosmetic store intentionally and might walk past us, but it’s not a location with good circulation. As a new brand, you can’t be in a stand-alone location without traffic and hope for the best. In the first few months, no one came.”During the initial phase of brand growth, Gentlewoman made significant investments in advertising. Originally focusing on workwear, the brand showed an increase in customers after transitioning to casual wear. Over time, the company introduced more collections to attract customers. Despite the challenges of Covid-19, the Thai fashion brand achieved sales growth for five consecutive years.Gentlewoman posted about 65 million baht in sales in 2019 and 73 million baht in the following year.“During Covid-19, big brands [were] advised to save money and do nothing. They had the cash to wait it out, but small brands like ours didn’t. We had some cash, but not enough just to do nothing and survive for long. Maybe we could last six months, but eventually, we’d run out of money.“That’s why we’ve been launching new products, selling everything we can, and focusing on online sales and marketing during Covid-19.”He said the star products were Gentlewoman headbands and GW beach towels as demand for home products surged during the lockdowns.“Our goal was to survive, and our efforts began to get noticed. Even though our voice wasn’t loud, the absence of other voices made us stand out. We concentrated on design and brand improvement,” he added.In 2021, the brand boosted its sales figures again, posting 167 million baht. This upward trend continued into 2022, when sales skyrocketed to 593 million baht. The brand opened its first flagship store in Siam Square the same year.“At the end of 2022, we started exploring other markets,” he said, adding the brand initially rolled out marketing campaigns in Singapore. “We took the initiative rather than wait for the tourism industry to recover in Thailand,” Siriwattanamathangkul said.Last year, Gentlewoman’s growth trajectory again reached new heights, as the brand achieved an astonishing 1.5 billion baht in sales. Gentlewoman is currently operating 15 stores across Thailand.Crossing bordersThe company is now plotting its expansion plan within its home market, with three stores slated to open later this year, including its largest, inside CentralWorld. The new store will be twice the size of the current flagship in Siam Square and will feature a rebranded image and interior.“When we started small, we didn’t have investors and had limited resources and money for the store. Our creativity was also limited. Now, we’re getting bigger. We have more skilled people and better connections, like interior designers. We now have the ability and willingness to improve continuously. So, we decided to rebrand and create a new design. We want the store to be more experiential,” Siriwattanamathangkul said.The brand’s ambition goes beyond its home market, though. While the majority of its customers are Thai, Gentlewoman has also gained popularity among fashion fans outside the country.“Fashion is universal, and we believe that in Southeast Asia,  there are some similarities in terms of fashion preferences,” Siriwattanamathangkul said.The founder said the company’s first focus was in Singapore due to its high income and the high traffic to Bangkok. The online market is efficient there, and its population is just the right size to be the company’s target market.“If you are successful in Thailand with a product that appeals to the region and uses the right marketing strategies for the right target group, you can achieve success,” Siriwattanamathangkul added. “Our approach is systematic. We intentionally defined our marketing strategy and saw sales results from that.”He said that while he travelled outside the country, he noticed foreigners using Gentlewoman’s products, which made him realise the popularity of Gentlewoman beyond Thailand.“Thanks to strong tourism, we started marketing in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. As a result, we doubled our general sales last year,” he explained.While the brand is looking into expanding internationally, the company is not yet at a scale that it can open international stores on its own. The co-founder said the company is in discussions with several partners for its overseas expansion.“We have a customer base in countries like Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, China, and maybe Hong Kong. If we can find a good operator, we would love to expand. However, as a small team with no investors, we aren’t able to do it on our own.”Sister brandsPicking up the momentum, Gentlewoman has recently introduced two new sister brands – Gentle Littlewoman and Matter Makers – to expand its reach to different customer segments.“The idea came from one of the co-founders, who has a daughter. We thought it was a great idea that when you buy something, your daughter can have a similar item in a smaller version. We introduced the little version for girls about two years ago,” Siriwattanamathangkul said.Meanwhile, Matter Makers was added to Gentlewoman’s portfolio through an acquisition to turn the brand into a unisex contemporary streetwear brand that embodies the fusion of art, culture, self-expression, and creativity. Matter Makers has a flagship store in Siam Square One, opposite Gentlewoman’s flagship, and five pop-up stores inside popular shopping malls.RebrandingSiriwattanamathangkul explained that Gentlewoman is undergoing a rebranding process. Previously, it was widely recognised as a trendy label with fashionable and eye-catching branding that appealed to a specific audience. However, the co-founder elaborated that Gentlewoman is now intentionally shifting its image to be more relatable and accessible to its customers. This new direction emphasises more ‘subtle’ styles that aim to resonate on a deeper level with Gentlewoman’s audience, reflecting a more understated and refined aesthetic.Amid the constantly changing preferences of fashion choices among young customers, the brand stays relevant through regular collaborations with cool labels. Besides collaborating with growing local designers, such as Iwannabangkok, Gentlewoman has also partnered with global brands. The brand teamed with DHL Express last year to launch an exclusive collection featuring DHL’s bright colour palette. Other recent collaboration partners include Fila and Havaianas. The brand also took over the Tangible Café to promote its GW Denim Dumpling Bag in July. The brand is also exploring opportunities to work with local fashion brands outside Thailand.“We learn a lot by working with other brands – how they are and how they think. Surprisingly, in the fashion industry, we work together and enjoy sharing. We learn from each other. I was lucky to work with many experienced fashion brands. We come from accounting and commerce backgrounds and gain all our experience by working with them,” he said.“I believe that in the fashion industry, brands don’t directly compete with each other. To a certain extent, they do, like when you go out for dinner, you can have only one dinner. However, you can buy multiple courses. Of course, you have a limited amount of money, but it’s not like you can buy one thing and can’t buy another. The challenge is to consistently create better and better products,” he said.“We pressure ourselves to improve branding and operations every day. The goal is to be better tomorrow than we are today. It’s not just about competition,” he concluded.The Southeast Asia fashion scene has witnessed an unprecedented rise in the number of local fashion brands gaining popularity globally. With the recovery of tourism and rising Thai entertainment, Gentlewoman’s growth journey is only getting started.This story first appeared in the August 2024 issue of Inside Retail Asia magazine.