Wikipedia

Secretlab

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

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

Secretlab
Company typePrivate limited company
IndustryFurniture
Founded2014; 10 years ago (2014)
Founder
Headquarters
Singapore
Key people
ProductsGaming chairs
Production output
Increase 1,000,000 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 edit

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][14] In April 2021,[15] the company unveiled the Magnus, a magnetic metal desk.[16]

Facilities and partners edit

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.[17] The company has partnered multiple times with organisers of official esports tournaments, where the partnership involves Secretlab providing chairs for the players.[18] In partnership with HBO, it introduced Game of Thrones-themed gaming chairs.[19]

Sales and finances edit

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.[20] 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 edit

PC Gamer named Secretlab's Omega 2020 the best gaming chair of 2019, praising it for its adjustable armrest;[21] the same product was named best gaming chair in 2020 by GamesRadar+.[4][22] T3 called the Magnus the best gaming accessory of 2021,[23] while IGN listed the Titan Evo 2022 as the best gaming chair of 2022.[24] 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]

A 2022 University of California, Berkeley study compared the Secretlab Titan Evo, whose seat pan was made with cold cure foam, with a mesh chair. Subjects were made to perform various tasks in both chairs as part of an 8-hour blind test that spanned two days. The results indicated that supportability, seat pressure distribution, and "subjective performance on computer-based tasks" were better with the Titan Evo. However, the study also found "minimal differences in comfort, discomfort and pain when sitting on a fully adjustable mesh chair versus a fully adjustable foam chair."[25]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Leong, Grace (30 June 2021). "Secretlab gaming chair co-founder Ian Ang snaps up GCB, penthouse for $51m". The Straits Times.  
  2. ^ a b 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. ^ Feng, Zengkun (16 August 2022). "How Singapore's Secretlab is conquering lucrative North American and European markets". The Business Times.
  4. ^ a b c d e Furtado, Collin (15 March 2021). "Secretlab could be Singapore's next billion-dollar company". Tech in Asia. Retrieved 23 July 2021.  
  5. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c 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. ^ Low, Youjin (2 August 2020). "Covid-19 pandemic a boon for gaming chair maker Secretlab, as demand from home office market grows". Today.
  15. ^ "Secretlab MAGNUS Metal Desk — The Everyday Modern Computer Desk". Secretlab. 27 April 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  16. ^ Chokkattu, Julian (19 September 2021). "This Magnetic Desk Is a Neat Freak's Dream". Wired.
  17. ^ Tang, See Kit (31 August 2021). "Secretlab to hire more than 100 employees in Singapore following 'massive growth'". Channel News Asia.
  18. ^ Tan, Sue-Ann (17 March 2020). "Me & My Money: Sitting on a game plan to secure the future". The Straits Times.  
  19. ^ "Stark, Targaryen or Lannister? Game Of Thrones-themed gaming chairs launched". Channel News Asia. 3 May 2019.
  20. ^ Choo, Yun Ting (13 August 2019). "Temasek's Heliconia to invest millions in local gaming chair company Secretlab". The Straits Times.
  21. ^ "Hardware of the year awards 2019". PC Gamer. 16 December 2019.
  22. ^ 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)
  23. ^ Jones, Robert (10 June 2021). "T3 Awards 2021: all the Gaming award winners announced". T3. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  24. ^ Lee, Kevin; Abraham, Danielle (15 May 2022). "Best Gaming Chairs 2022". IGN. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  25. ^ Afterman, Melissa; Houghton, Frederick; Honan, Meg; Barr, Alan; Harris-Adamson, Carisa (2022). "Impact of Seat Material on Comfort, Preference and Performance During Computer-Based Tasks over a Prolonged Bout of Sitting". Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting. 66 (1): 863–867. doi:10.1177/1071181322661483.

External links edit

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