How this local watch strap company got Ed Sheeran to wear one of their creations during his show in Singapore
During Ed Sheeran’s recent concert in Singapore on Feb 16 (Fri), Kenneth Kuan and Chia Pei Qi met with the singer backstage to gift him a set of watch straps their company, Delugs, had created. Sheeran ended up wearing one for his intimate concert the next day. The couple share with CNA Luxury how it all happened.
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When Kenneth Kuan, 30, and Chia Pei Qi, 29, heard that Ed Sheeran was coming to Singapore to perform, they had a “crazy idea”. The husband-and-wife duo are co-founders of Delugs, a homegrown luxury watch straps and accessories company, and big fans of the singer. They wanted to invite Sheeran down to their boutique and gift him some of their watch straps.
“Many people are fans of Ed Sheeran, his music is very popular. But we also know him as a big watch guy. Not only is he a good musician, he is also known as a collector in the watch space,” shared Chia. The pair had seen several of Sheeran’s interviews talking about his collection, but one that specially caught their attention was an episode of Talking Watches by Hodinkee, hosted by fellow singer, John Mayer.
The post got the attention of the international watch community, eventually reaching Sheeran’s watch sales adviser based in the US. She was familiar with Delugs and offered to put them in touch with Sheeran’s team. As Kuan said, they were basically crowdsourcing for any leads.
Sheeran’s team eventually reached out to the couple, offering them backstage passes to his show on Feb 16 to meet him. The meeting was only confirmed on the morning of the show. It was a brief moment, where they passed Sheeran the case and straps they had put together.
But that wasn’t the end of it. The brand had also caught the attention of Sheeran’s tour staff, who also requested for straps they could use. As Delugs offers watch straps that are cut to size, Kuan said they will meet them the next day to fit the straps on their wrists.
Then another message came from Sheeran’s team, requesting specifically for straps for two particular watches. “I suspected they were for watches that Ed owns,” said Kuan. “I did have straps for them but I didn’t have it with me at the time. They asked if I was free to come by Ed’s second concert to put it on him. We cancelled all the bai nian plans that we had that night,” he added with a chuckle.
But that wasn’t the end of it. The brand had also caught the attention of Sheeran’s tour staff, who also requested for straps they could use. As Delugs offers watch straps that are cut to size, Kuan said they will meet them the next day to fit the straps on their wrists.
Then another message came from Sheeran’s team, requesting specifically for straps for two particular watches. “I suspected they were for watches that Ed owns,” said Kuan. “I did have straps for them but I didn’t have it with me at the time. They asked if I was free to come by Ed’s second concert to put it on him. We cancelled all the bai nian plans that we had that night,” he added with a chuckle.
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How this local watch strap company got Ed Sheeran to wear one of their creations during his show in Singapore
During Ed Sheeran’s recent concert in Singapore on Feb 16 (Fri), Kenneth Kuan and Chia Pei Qi met with the singer backstage to gift him a set of watch straps their company, Delugs, had created. Sheeran ended up wearing one for his intimate concert the next day. The couple share with CNA Luxury how it all happened
One thing that stood out to Ken and I was that he talked about his watch straps. He talked about wanting to put rubber straps on his watches, he talked about having straps with rubber linings. He was very specific because he travels and performs a lot, and he wanted a strap that would be comfortable even in humid climates. This is exactly the target audience we are building our brand for,” Chia elaborated. “We want people to think about their straps as much as they think about their watches. Ed Sheeran is someone who cares about details. Whether he is a star or not, he’s the right person to appreciate our products.”
The pair admitted that although they had thought about gifting Sheeran their straps last year, “we didn’t do anything about it until two weeks ago,” Chia laughed. “We had the idea, but we never acted on it. We knew that if we didn’t do anything about it, we would regret it.”
It was a shot in the dark as they had no connections to the singer or to his label. So they decided to engage the power of social media. The Delugs team banded together to create a video addressed to Sheeran. In the video, they showed a hand-painted watch case they had put together featuring a curated selection of eight straps, and invited him to come down to their boutique to collect the gift.
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