The Agenda: Business

Topologie, a Hong Kong-based brand that makes bags and accessories inspired by rock climbing, is gearing up for a colossal retail ascent in 2025. It plans to open 18 shops this year, doubling its global footprint, starting in February with a new outpost on New York’s Prince Street. “We’re very confident about the next 12 months,” says its ceo and co-founder, Carlos Granon.

Topologie’s expansion reflects the success of its Wares System, which allows you to customise your bag with separately sold straps. Annual revenues soared from $7m (€6.8m) in 2021 to $28m (€27.2m) last year and are expected to reach $45m (€43.7m) by the end of 2025.

Investing in shops has raised profits, made the brand more personable and offered room for more risk-taking in terms of products. “Buyers are cautious and have killed many of our styles in the past,” says Granon. Collaborations with Universal Works and Yohji Yamamoto land in shops in September. But a big challenge is finding the right retail space. With many brands shifting from relying on wholesalers to opening their own shops, there’s a scramble for locations in major cities.
topologie.com

TECHNOLOGY ––– UK
Q&A

Talking heads
Colin Herperger, Ventete

UK-based firm Ventete is the maker of the world’s first inflatable cycle helmet. The puncture-resistant headgear can be deflated and folded away between journeys. The company’s co-founder, Colin Herperger, was a farmer in Canada before deciding to study architecture. He tells us more about the brand.

Why an inflatable helmet?
Conventional foam helmets compress on impact. We wondered whether a deeper compression system would be safer. Our helmet has high-pressure chambers made from triple-layered ballistic materials, making it very durable while matching the weight of other high-performance headgear.

It took 10 years to get the product to market. Why?
Safety products require an extensive certification process. It’s very difficult to be innovative in line with those standards, particularly when you’re protecting the head.

How did you fund it?
We had early support from Innovate UK [a government scheme]. With electric bikes gaining momentum, our vision for the helmet aligned with the market. This helped us to attract private investment.
ventete.com

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Bitumen is a black, viscous liquid produced from crude oil that is used to lay roads. “For every square metre of bitumen road, you need to mine 300kg of materials from the earth,” says Chu Xian Oh, the ceo of Magorium, a Singapore-based start-up that’s turning plastic waste into an alternative to asphalt. In Singapore, only 5 per cent of plastic refuse is recycled, mainly as a result of contamination. Oh’s team has found a way to treat impure and unsorted plastic through a thermal conversion process. “We reverse-engineer the waste into its basic form, then chemically reform it into NewBitumen, a bitumen-like material,” says Oh (pictured). As a result, the company has diverted some 150,000kg of waste away from the incinerator.

Magorium has since used the material to pave roads for 10 projects across Singapore. Among these was a vaccine facility for French pharmaceutical company Sanofi. The Magorium team collaborated with hospitals to collect discarded Sanofi insulin pens from patients, which were then used for the resurfacing work. “It was a circular project,” says Oh. “The company was able to pave roads using its own waste plastic.”
mgrium.com