Singular Society is a new shopping model that sees products as a service. Members receive premium products at the manufacturing price. “Responsibly made, essential products of the highest quality from some of the best manufacturers in the world,” says the website. Members pay a monthly or annual fee and can then shop as they please at the purchase price. Will the founders be able to minimize overproduction, as they claim to do? FashionUnited has written to the company to inquire.
How long has Singular Society existed, how did it come about and how is it integrated into the H&M Group?
Singular Society was launched in Stockholm in 2020 by managing director Daniel Herrmann and creative director Erik Zetterburg. Both founders have a history with the H&M Group. Most recently, Daniel was Managing Director of Weekday and Erik was Global Head of Creative at H&M. Singular Society is a subsidiary of the H&M Group and one of the portfolio brands, alongside brands such as COS, ARKET, & Other Stories, but operates independently of H&M with its own team and suppliers.
In April 2023, Singular Society was launched on the German market.
What makes Singular Society different from other ‘shopping clubs’?
Singular Society was founded by the duo with a mission to democratize access to high-quality luxury lifestyle products by introducing a new membership-based business model. It is a membership-based lifestyle brand that designs, develops and manufactures high-quality products and offers them at manufacturing cost.
The brand is based on a subscription-based retail model, offering products as a service to members rather than as a source of revenue. For us, this goes hand in hand with the vision of changing customer behavior for the better and at the same time achieving a positive development towards brand loyalty and thus a new dimension of product value.
The concept of membership fees redirects the flow of income. Because Singular Society sells products at manufacturing price, the company does not make any profits from the product itself. This allows it to actively work with supply and demand to create collection sizes that meet community demand. So Singular never produces more than it can sell, and product prices fluctuate with economies of scale. Singular creates products of the highest possible quality that, when treated properly, will last and last for generations.
Membership costs €9.50 per month or €114 per year, and transparent product pricing is available on each individual product page.
How does this work out for customers?
All products cost at least 50 to 80 percent less compared to traditional retail. More than two thirds of members already pay off the annual fee with their first order. The average member saves a four-figure amount in euros per year.
The product as a service, not as a source of income – that sounds revolutionary. How can this work?
The retail industry faces several major challenges – customers receive limited product value and often pay inflated prices for inferior quality products. Companies are risk and capital intensive, they struggle to create a genuine relationship with their customers, and brand loyalty is low. Sustainability is difficult to achieve. Today’s models lead to overproduction, which in turn leads to overconsumption.
Singular Society aims to positively impact these challenging areas by introducing the new revolutionary business model. It relies on both memberships and revenue generation to reduce product costs even further as membership numbers increase.
Isn’t the business model of democratizing premium quality utopian?
We have every reason to believe that it is realistic! The growth we have seen since starting the business in Sweden supports this point of view and after eight months in Germany we are excited to see the German market growing. Singular’s mission is aimed at a target group that looks for the best possible quality, wants pieces that last a long time, appreciates “quiet luxury” and also appreciates the innovative business model, which means they pay great prices for all these advantages.
