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Tag: Mall of Asia

  • Chinese shoppers can now use Alipay at the Mall of Asia

    Chinese shoppers can now use Alipay at the Mall of Asia

    Chinese consumers can now use Alipay at the Mall of Asia stores  thanks to a joint venture between Ant Financial Services and SM.

    Technology to allow retailers to accept Alipay has been installed at almost half the mall’s stores already, with the rest to follow within three to six months.

    Opening the way for Chinese to use Alipay at the Mall of Asia is aimed at attracting more tourists to the mall – as well as the increasing locally based Chinese population.

    “SM Mall of Asia is a must-visit shopping destination among tourists who enjoy the wide array of shopping and dining offerings and unique amenities,” said Cherry Huang, GM, cross-border business for South and Southeast Asia at Alipay.

    “We are happy to partner with SM Mall of Asia to deploy Alipay acceptance points in the mall for shoppers who are looking for the best of retail and lifestyle offerings and the same seamless shopping experiences that they enjoy at home. At the same time, we are very excited to help merchants in SM Mall of Asia connect with tourists before they’ve even arrived in the Philippines through our platform’s marketing capabilities.”

    Since Alipay entered the Philippines in 2017, the number of Alipay acceptance points has grown exponentially across retail, hospitality and entertainment attractions. Aside from Manila, Alipay acceptance points are available in six provinces frequented by Chinese tourists, including Cebu, Davao, Palawan and Boracay.

    According to the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry, international tourist arrivals to the Philippines rose by 7.7 per cent to 7.1 million visitors last year. China contributed 1.255 million of them, a growth rate of 30 per cent year on year.

    More than 3.12 million Chinese citizens have taken up residence in the Philippines since January 2016.

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  • Amorepacific boosts business expansion in the Philippines

    Amorepacific boosts business expansion in the Philippines

    South Korean cosmetics giant Amorepacific is ramping up its Asean expansion, opening the first Innisfree and Laneige Philippines stores. Amorepacific established Amorepacific Philippines in Metro Manila in August and has since opened the first Innisfree store, in Manila’s SM Mall of Asia.

    This week the company opened its first Laneige Philippines store, at SM Makati Department Store.

    Laneige has also launched on the nation’s largest e-commerce channels in the Philippines including Lazada.

    The upmarket Laneige brand will expand through both online and offline channels through next year, Amorepacific said in a statement.

    The company says the Philippines offers great growth potential, with its population of more than 107 million. It is particularly targeting the premium beauty market which is growing quickly there, along with the broader popularity of K-beauty.

    “By expanding into this promising market, Amorepacific aims to strengthen its presence in the Asean region, which is one of the important strategic business regions for the company,” the statement said.

    Amorepacific has already launched in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

    “We are glad to finally make our way into the Philippines market and respond to its increasing need for our brands,” said Robin Na, head of Amorepacific Asean regional headquarters. “Through our differentiated, innovative products and premium brands, we will spread Asian beauty across the Philippines and satisfy the local customers.”

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  • Ikea to open world’s largest store in the Philippines

    Ikea to open world’s largest store in the Philippines

    Ikea Philippines says its first store will take up an enormous 65,000sqm space, making it the world’s largest. The current largest Ikea store globally opened in Seoul in December 2014 and takes up 59,000sqm. Local franchisor Inter Ikea Systems, which operates the homewares and furniture retailer in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, chose to partner with SM Malls for its Philippine launch. The store will become an anchor of the giant Pasay mall, and its largest tenant when it opens in 2020.

    The size of the store reflects the huge consumer catchment: more than 5 million households within 60 minutes drive.

    Inter Ikea says the store will stock 9000 products and host a warehouse to fulfil online orders and an integrated call centre. A Philippine-specific website will launch prior to the store opening to help build brand awareness and offer design inspiration.

    “The Ikea vision is to create a better everyday life for the many people, so we are excited to be bringing our offer to a country where millions of people share our passion for home,” said Ikea Southeast Asia MD Christian Rojkjaer.

  • Specialized Bicycle opened first store in Philippines

    Specialized Bicycle opened first store in Philippines

    Bicycle brand Specialized has opened the first of three stores planned for the Philippines. The first Specialized Manila store is trading now at SM by the Bay at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City.  More are planned for Quezon City and Pasig by the end of this year. More will follow in other cities from next year.

    Billed as “a bicycle brand made for riders by riders”, the 44-year-old company describes the stores as “a cyclist’s haven”.

    “We want to serve the riders where they are, and at the same time make it convenient for them to get that one-stop bike shop experience,” said Ritchie Santayana, customer development director of Gruppo Innovare Corp, the local distributor of the brand.

    Specialized makes bicycles for triathletes and sports people as well as enthusiasts of cycling as a means of maintaining fitness

    The Specialized Manila stores will stock technically advanced models including the trail bike Stumpjumper, e-mountain bikes Turbo Levo and Kenevo, the fast road bike the Venge; and the lightweight Tarmac racing bike.

  • Innisfree ready to open Philippines store

    Innisfree ready to open Philippines store

    Innisfree Philippines is opening its first doors, at SM Mall of Asia in Manila.

    The store is currently being fitted out, but the corner site on the ground floor of the mall already carries signage of the South Korean beauty brand.

    While the opening day has not yet been revealed, Filipino fans can look forward to the company’s cosmetic products, including Green Tea Seed Serum, Jeju Volcanic Pore Clay Mask, Orchid Enriched Cream, and No Sebum Mineral Powder, as well as its makeup lines.

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  • Ikea Philippines launches at the Mall of Asia

    Ikea Philippines launches at the Mall of Asia

    Ikea Philippines will open its first store next to Mall of Asia in Manila in 2020.

    Inter Ikea Systems announced in February it had appointed Ikea Southeast Asia (Ikano) as Philippine franchisee, the same company that holds the rights to Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

    In an exclusive interview with Inside Retail Asia, Ikea Southeast Asia MD Christian Rojkjaer says Ikea chose to open its first Philippine store at SM’s Mall of Asia as it is such an impressive, established centre. “It’s already there and we have no chance to beat it.”

    However, future stores might be integrated with Ikano’s own shopping-centre developments, similar to Bangkok’s Mega Bangna, Kuala Lumpur’s MyTown and the Toppen Tebrau under construction in Johor Bahru, Malaysia.

    “What happens in Malaysia and the Philippines is that we go in and… we must create the best shopping destinations in that country either alone or with somebody else. So we do it shopping centre by shopping centre with the customer in mind. We are not like, ‘It has to be ours’. It has to be the best position for our customers. So let’s see what is going to happen [in the Philippines], but the first one will be with SM.”

    Ikano is one of 10 Ikea franchisees worldwide and the only one owned by members of the founding Kamprad family. It had to pitch for the Philippines franchise, as it did for the Indonesian one (which it lost to Jardine Group’s Dairy Farm International in Hong Kong).

    Southeast Asia is one of the few growth regions in the world for Ikea, where many local markets have developing economies so its customers have lower average incomes than in more developed markets.

    “That has been quite challenging,” Rojkjaer tells Inside Retail Asia. “We want to be for the many in a country, but when we go into the Philippines, for a while it will be for a lot, but not for everybody. Then we will grow our presence and become more for the many, as we say. Of course, not everybody in the Philippines can afford us today, but we will work on that and adapt our range and become better and better to become something for many more people.

    “That will certainly be the same in Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, too. That said, our range will fit a lot of people in all those countries from day one.”

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  • SM Mall of Asia to build museum

    SM Mall of Asia to build museum

    The SM Mall of Asia and Museo del Galeon are set to launch the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Museum in Pasay City in the third quarter of 2016.

    The dome-shaped museum will feature the history of the 250-year old global trade route where the Philippines and Mexico played major roles. Its main feature is a replica of the galleon ships used for trade.

    “The new museum will be a game changer as we see this significantly contributing to education and tourism. We are very excited to take part in bringing back to life this importance piece of our trade heritage and history,” Edgar Tejerero, president at SM Lifestyle Entertainment, the entertainment solutions company of SM Prime Holdings.

    SM Mall of Asia museum 1

    The museum will highlight the galleon trade’s impact on today’s commerce, banking, travel, and cultural exchange. The dome will showcase the actual process of building a galleon, while exhibiting relics such as porcelain, gold and other goods that were traded in the Spanish era.

    SM Mall of Asia’s ongoing redevelopment, which includes the museum, will expand its floor space from the current 406,962 sqm to a gross floor area of around 700,000 sqm. Upon completion in 2017, SM Mall of Asia will regain its status of being the largest mall in the Philippines, a status currently enjoyed by SM North EDSA which has a GFA of 497,912 sqm.

    Museo del Galeón Inc is a non-stock non-profit corporation tasked to preserve historical artifacts pertaining to the galleon trade.

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