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{{short description|Hong Kong retail chain}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Cheap Lab
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==History==
The company was founded in 2014 by So Hiu-fan. So opened the company's first ___location in a 40-square-foot space in the Apple Mall section of the [[Dragon Centre]] shopping mall in [[Sham Shui Po]], which she leased for {{currency|3000|HKD}} per month, soon after she [[Legal separation|separated]] from her ex-husband. The store initially sold low-cost jewellery and a small amount of stationery purchased online from [[mainland China]], with teenage schoolgirls being its main target audience. Later that year, So expanded the store by leasing ten shop spaces in the Apple Mall, giving a total area between 300 and 400 square feet, and rebranded the store "Cheap Lab" along with introducing its logo.<ref name="MP">{{cite web |author1=薛偉傑 |title=打執笠旗號 執笠倉成文具店新貴 創辦人堅守初衷——毋須賺到盡 |url=https://www.mpfinance.com/fin/daily2.php?node=1553797164702&issue=20190329 |website=Ming Pao |accessdate=19 December 2019 |language=zh-HK |date=29 March 2019}}</ref>
Cheap Lab opened its second ___location at [[Cheung Sha Wan Road]] in Sham Shui Po. As the company was able to attract a wider range of customers owing to the shop's ___location on a busy street, the company expanded the types of products it sold to include more types of stationery, household items and [[smartphone]] accessories. So met Law Ka-cheung, her current husband, in 2016;<ref>{{cite web |author1=鄺月婷 |title=【執笠倉】3萬儲蓄起家 5年狂開10間舖 老闆娘親解「達陣」經過 |url=https://www.hk01.com/%E5%B0%88%E9%A1%8C%E4%BA%BA%E8%A8%AA/314366/%E5%9F%B7%E7%AC%A0%E5%80%89-3%E8%90%AC%E5%84%B2%E8%93%84%E8%B5%B7%E5%AE%B6-5%E5%B9%B4%E7%8B%82%E9%96%8B10%E9%96%93%E8%88%96-%E8%80%81%E9%97%86%E5%A8%98%E8%A6%AA%E8%A7%A3-%E9%81%94%E9%99%A3-%E7%B6%93%E9%81%8E |website=HK01 |accessdate=19 December 2019 |language=zh-HK |date=9 April 2019}}</ref> Law's parents founded stationery wholesaler Tung Fong Stationery Co. and operated the company for 30 years. Law joined Cheap Lab as a shareholder, injecting capital and introducing new sources for [[procurement|procuring]] products, such as by bypassing wholesalers and [[Parallel import|directly importing]] products from a Korean manufacturer. The company opened six new locations in 2016. As of 2018, the company operates ten locations in Hong Kong.<ref name="MP"/>
==Operations==
Sit Wai-kit of ''[[Ming Pao]]'' attributed the rapid expansion of Cheap Lab to various strategies, including its Chinese name 執笠倉 which gives the impression of a constant [[Closeout (sale)|clearance sale]], and its strategy of importing products and leasing shops. Sit also noted that the company allowed retail staff to manage and interact with customers on the company's Facebook fan page based on their own creativity, including by taking videos of themselves promoting new products, with few restrictions.<ref name="MP"/> This stands in contrast with similar stationery retailers in Hong Kong which rarely use social media and instead focus on low pricing and quick [[inventory turnover]].<ref name="MP"/> Sit pointed to several examples, including a Cheap Lab employee showcasing a low-cost [[fidget spinner]] by demonstrating in a video several ways with which it can be played; and another employee using a pair of [[3M]] titanium scissors, instead of a knife, to cut a roast [[suckling pig]].<ref name="MP"/>
As of 2019, customers spend an average of HK$20 per purchase at Cheap Lab. The company trialed the sale of higher-priced products in 2019, though So noted that customers were generally unwilling to purchase products priced above HK$50. Rent constitutes 20-30% of the company's costs, higher than most retailers.<ref>{{cite web |author1=梁子謙 |title=「執笠平貨」吸客人均消費約20元 執笠倉：做貼地雜貨店 |url=https://ps.hket.com/article/2306039 |website=Hong Kong Economic Times |accessdate=19 December 2019 |language=zh-HK |date=3 April 2019}}</ref> To reduce costs, the company usually selects shops with both a ground floor and an upper or basement floor, with a combined area larger than 1500 square feet to accommodate multiple types of products. The company said it had difficulty expanding into shopping malls despite its size because most mall operators were unwilling to accept branding the store "執笠", which literally means "going out of business".<ref>{{cite web |title=為進駐商場 另起新店名「幸丸」 |url=https://www.mpfinance.com/fin/daily2.php?node=1553797166247&issue=20190329 |website=Ming Pao |accessdate=19 December 2019 |language=zh-HK |date=29 March 2019}}</ref>
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