Gifting is a thoughtful process that requires skill and imagination, and Hour Loop knows all about it.

Buying a gift is more than just going to the store and purchasing an expensive item. When gifting, children don’t consider the value of the gift but engage in a thinking process of discovering what would make the person happy.

A drawing made by a child or a simple figurine they selected brings more smiles than any diamond bracelet.

However, not everyone is a skilled craftsman. Companies like Hour Loop exist to offer a wide selection of gifts for every budget range. They offer affordable and authentic gifts, from figurines to apparel and electronics.

Sam Lai and Maggie Yu are the husband and wife duo behind Hour Loop. Wanting to bring manufacturer products closer to customers, they decided it’s time to join forces and bring something new to the market, so stick around and discover the story of Hour Loop.

Who Is Who

Sam Lai was born in 1983 and has a rather fascinating resume. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Computer Sciences from The University of Texas. In 2003, he enrolled at the University of California, San Diego for his Master’s degree, once again in Computer Sciences.

In 2003, Sam started working as a Research Engineer Scientist assistant. Once he received his Master’s degree, Amazon picked him right up. He worked there as a Software Development Engineer for almost two years, designing and building wireless sales technologies.

In 2007, Sam took a break from Amazon, only to return again three years later. During his break from Amazon, Sam worked on developing new products targeted at homeland security. He was part of the team that designed and developed Radio Connect. When he returned to Amazon, he continued his work as a Software Development Engineer III.

Not much is known about Sam’s wife Maggie Yu. Her legal name is said to be Sau Kuen Yu, but she goes by the name Maggie Yu. She has no working experience prior to Hour Loop and describes herself as having a keen eye for details, being a person who can spot things others have missed.

In 2004 Maggie received her Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of California San Diego, Jacobs School of Engineering. However, as she says, her proudest moment is establishing and running a successful business with her husband.

Both Sam and Maggie are fluent speakers of English and Chinese. They describe themselves as passionate and detailed-oriented business owners who strive to build a world-class operation.

Being in the Loop

Hour Loop was founded in 2013 in Redmond, Washington, keeping its headquarters there, still. Part of the online shopping and mail-order industry, this U.S. company serves as a third-party seller on Amazon. In 2020, it expanded its operations to Walmart. Standing tall between competitors like Build-A-Bear Workshop, Village Super Market, and Express, Hour Loop persisted in offering its clients the best of decor items, collectibles, and toys, among other products.

Gift-shoppers can choose from a wide selection of brands like Comfy Hour, Aurora, Carson, Precious Moments, and a selection of figurines from Jim Shore, an artist known to collaborate with Disney. The products range from toys, apparel, home/garden decor, electronics, and kitchenware.

So what do these vendors offer? If you are a passionate collector of any kind of figurines, you will most definitely like the selection Hour Loop offers. The product palette is wide, offering random figurines as well as holiday specials and cartoon characters.

There is a wide selection of house and garden items, and you can also search for items based on the occasion. Although Hour Loop is marketing itself as a place for gift-shoppers, basically any consumer can purchase items from this company. The average price of the products that are sold in Hour Loop is about $22.

The company has a special offer for getting 20% off and free shipping if the customers’ order is $50 or more by use of the Hour Loop code. So, if you don’t have any gifts to buy, you can always treat yourself to an item of your liking. The Hour Loop website is rather easy to navigate, but you can also purchase the items in Hour Loop’s Amazon store.

Bearing in mind that Sam Lai is passionate about high-quality code and is a successful software engineer, it’s only normal that Hour Loop utilizes advanced software for their daily operation. Market product gaps can easily be identified to store products in stock throughout the year.

It’s worth noting that the revenue for Hour Loop comes from being a third-party seller on Amazon and only partially from its own website. Always striving to be the best in what they do, Sam and Maggie’s company is planning to increase the stock-keeping units and vendors to expand their business.

Currently, Hour Loop employs a total of 66 people, three of which are professionally engaged in the company’s Head Office, and the other 63 are on other remote sites.

Investors Opening to the Public

The Management team of Hour loop is composed of Sam Lai as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sau Kuen “Maggie” Yu as Senior Vice President and Director, and Rahul Ratan as Chief Financial Officer.

Sam and Maggie own 96% of the voting power, owning 33,300,000 shares of the company’s common stock. The company revenues for 2021 are estimated at $52.58 million, while the net income is a not-so-shabby sum of $4.86 million.

In January 2022, the leading online retailer announced that it is opening up its doors to the public. The company’s common stock was approved for listing on the Nasdaq Capital market.

The trading began on January 7, 2022, under the symbol NASDAQ: HOUR. The company’s decision to go public was due to a debt towards the owners and at the same time fund an additional inventory acquisition.

A total of 1.5 million shares of common stock were offered to the public for the price of $4.00 per share and a total of $6.0 million of aggregate gross proceeds, before deducting commissions, underwriting discounts, and other offering expenses.

The company has shown significant financial performance based on its financial results. It has an increased gross margin, a growing gross and operating profit, as well as topline revenue. There is a possibility that Hour Loop will be spotted by investors as a result of the low stock price.

Experience Is Key

The successful husband-wife duo, Sam Lai and Maggie Yu, has managed to build a solid company over the years. Their knowledge and dedication resulted in a successfully run company. Both with Bachelor's degrees in Computer Science are very much aware of the secrets of running a company in the e-commerce industry.

Although he is a successful business owner, Sam Lai is primarily a highly skilled software engineer with extensive experience in the industry. Sam highly appreciates the experience he had garnered for himself at Amazon. Sam is the designer of Amazon’s software for promoting faster loan processing to third-party traders.

With a brilliant mind like Sam Lai being the backbone of the company, it’s no wonder that Hour Loop is Amazon’s top seller. It is awarded a rather high 4.9-star rating from more than ten thousand satisfied customers. The customer reviews on Walmart are also ranking Hour Loop high. Although the cooperation is fairly recent, the ranking is a 4.7-star rating out of 5.

Looking at Hour Loop and the founders, it’s a company that has come a long way since 2013, constantly investing in making the customer experience better and more pleasurable.

The only thing remaining to see is what else Lai and Yu come up with to surprise their loyal customers.