Game and toy lovers across Singapore may recognise these store names:
Simply Toys, Otaku House, and Toy or Game/Comic Connection. In a recent visit to Dhoby Ghaut’s Plaza Singapura, I began wondering: “How did these stores start up and how did they get to where they are today?”
So I decided to take a short dive into some of our local toy stores to see if I could find more info on their humble beginnings and journey.
Simply Toys
Founded in 2001 by Ann Goh and Kua Way Hao, the founders met selling figures and toys at the Sunday flea market in Clarke Quay. Starting out as competitors, they eventually developed this healthy rivalry into the current Simply Toys. The very first Simply Toys opened on level 3 of Far East Plaza. A humble cornerstore which sold whatever was trendy and memorable.
Now with 6 outlets in high traffic locations, it looks to me like Simply Toys will be here to stay!
Images and references courtesy of https://www.instagram.com/p/DG79xrRSloW/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link, https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/lifestyle/toy-story-0, and
https://simplytoys.sg/pages/stores
Otaku House
Otakku House specialises in (as the name states) ‘Otaku’ merchandise. Spanning various anime and manga series and offering a wide range of merchandise such as figurines, accessories, and even cosplay costumes at one point. It is one of the largest anime Kuji stores in Singapore with more than 200 kuji titles in their catalog and more added almost daily. They were pioneers in the Kuji livestreaming scene since 2017, and continue offering Kuji worldwide. It started out as a humble pushcart at Orchard Cineleisure in 2006, and In 2011, Bandai acquired the store for $24 million USD.
Below is what I could find as their oldest livestream from 2017 on the Otaku House Youtube Channel!
Images and references courtesy of https://shop.otakuhouse.com/pages/about-us, otakuhouse.com, https://singmalls.app/en/malls/plaza-singapura/merchants/plaza-singapura-otaku-house
Comics Connection > Toy or Game
Comics Connection is a nostalgic name to many kids who grew up in early 2000s Singapore. It’s genesis began in the 1990s during the manga boom, when businessman Daniel Yeo launched his first store—originally called Comics Paradise—at Bukit Timah Plaza in 1992. Comics connection stores could be found everywhere at one point! Peaking in 2011 when there were 25 outlets across Singapore. Despite the store’s success, the lack of a successor led to Comics Connection being bought over in Toy or Game in 2015.
Though the stores are no longer around, the legacy of Comics Connection lives in our memories. :”)
Toy or Game has been running the site and stores very well since the handover, but I could not find much on the founders or journey except that at one point, they partnered with technology firm Data Driven Solutions (DDS) to study consumer behaviour.
Images and references courtesy of https://mothership.sg/2016/01/all-comics-connection-shops-in-spore-have-closed-down/ (I really wanted to find more articles but could not at this time ><)
https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/comics-connection-singapore?select=j4MuJIm72kwDdgWRnwIG2g
Of course, there are many other stores that at familiar to us locally. If this short blog post interested you, please let me know through my social media channels! In the future, I would love to take a small dive into some of our other local stores’ historys. Please look out for them!