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Tag: Philippines

  • Foreign brands drive Manila malls boom

    Foreign brands drive Manila malls boom

    Manila’s thriving retail sector will lead boost returns for shopping centre developers, says new research from real estate specialist CBRE.

    “With several new malls operational this quarter, supply of retail space has boosted,” concludes CBRE’s The Philippine Real Estate Industry Update and 2015 Outlook.

    “Retail sales remained solid, demonstrating upticks in consumer spending as evidenced by the low inflation rate and an encouraging outlook for real estate and tourism sectors.”

    Nationwide, the Philippines’ retail industry growth is being fuelled by both local and international brands expanding their footprints.

    “The quarter saw the entry and expansion of new and existing global brands in different retail core sites. These international brands have recognised the potential of the Philippine retail market, signified by the country’s strong economic growth.”

    Sweden’s H&M is a prime example: after a successful debut in Manila, the company has aggressively expanded its operations throughout Metro Manila with local major shopping mall operators. The first H&M outlet in Megamall occupies 3000 sqm over three floors and is now considered one of the largest retail stores in the Philippines.

    Estancia Mall in Capitol Commons, which houses several retail outlets and restaurants, opened in the fourth quarter in time for the holiday rush. The building, which has a gross floor area of over 30,000 sqm meters, also incorporates office space.

    Other Manila malls opening during the quarter were Robinson’s Place Las Piñas and City of Dreams Manila.

    “With the holiday season at hand, the retail sector remained active with more international retailers showing interest in entering the domestic market. Consumer sentiment was sustained as major drivers such as the BPO sector and overseas remittances show no signs of slowing down,” said CBRE.

    Diversifying into the retail segment, major developers are taking advantage of the ‘Retail- tainment’ concept wherein office and residential projects are including retail use.

    “The purpose of this is to provide the overall retail experience to Filipino shoppers, giving them the power of choice at their own convenience. This factor is also seen to attract foreign retail players to dive into the Philippine market scene.”

    These factors, says CBRE, will drive “upbeat” demand for, and supply of, retail space in Manila malls in the near future.

    “Overall, the Metro Manila retail market is seen to remain strong and stable for the remainder of the year empowered by the expanding Business Process Outsourcing industry, Overseas Foreign Worker remittances, growing tourism and a growing middle-income market.”

  • SM to expand Savemore network

    SM to expand Savemore network

    The Philippines’ SM Retail plans to open 20 more Savemore supermarkets this year after reaching the 100 threshold last year.

    Savemore is a neighbourhood grocer format, typically about 1300 sqm and located in areas where there is little organised retail industry in place. In such neighbourhoods, most Filipinos shop in sari sari stores – small businesses selling groceries in single unit volumes, everything from shampoo to soft drinks, run from the front of family homes.

    Besides groceries, Savemore stores offer services such as Western Union, bill payments and Watsons pharmacy concessions.

    SM Retail says it will invest P1 billion (US$22.7 million) this year in building new Savemores.

    SM Supermarkets president Joey C. Mendoza told the Philippine Star that SM Group opened 20 Savemore stores last year as well.

    “Our Savemore is expanding aggressively. We’re now over 100 stores so that’s good. And we’re expanding our reach because of the positive reception,” he said.

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  • Alfamart Philippines targets 3000 stores

    Alfamart Philippines targets 3000 stores

    Indonesian c-store format Alfamart is making steady progress in the Philippines after local retail giant SM Group entered a joint venture.

    Alfamart operates some 8500 convenience stores in Indonesia and now the brand is expanding into Philippines, where the c-store sector is still in its development stage.

    SM Supermarkets president Joey C. Mendoza told the Philippine Star newspaper that at the end of 2014, his company had opened 22 Alfamart branches after the two companies partnered in July. The first store in Trece Martires in Cavite, near Manila.

    Another eight have opened already this year.

    Alfamart Philippines stores stock basic groceries, foods, medicines and convenience foods 24 hours a day.

    SM expects strong growth during the next five years, believing critical mass for the chain is between 1000 and 3000 stores.

    Alfamart Indonesia is providing SM Group with experience and advice on the format’s expansion, stocking and rollout.

    Each store ranges from 150 sqm to 300 sqm in size and costs a maximum of P30 million (US$681,000) to open.

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  • Jollibee to open 330 stores

    Jollibee to open 330 stores

    Philippines-based fast food operator Jollibee Foods has reported a 14.3 per cent increase in income and announced a massive 330-store rollout for 2015.

    Jollibee is the country’s largest fast-food chain saw global sales increase 12.9 per cent to P90.7 billion (US$2.05 billion) from P80.2 billion ($1.81 billion) year on year to December 31.

    Its profit was P5.3 billion ($120 million), according to a lodgement with the Philippine Stock Exchange.

    Jollibee says it will open 330 stores this year – 220 of which will be in the Philippines. That’s a significant increase on last year’s 234 stores last year, of which 169 were in the Philippines and the remaining 65 abroad.

    The expansion will be funded by a 65 per cent boost in capital expenditure this year. two thirds to be spent in the Philippines, the blance in China, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

    Jollibee operates 2301 restaurants inside the Philippines: 858 bearing the Jollibee banner, 456 Mang Inasal, 410 Chowkings, 211 Greenwich, 323 Red Ribbon, and 43 Burger Kings. It has a further 612 stores overseas, including 310 Yonghe Kings, 50 Sang Pin Wan stores and 42 Hong Zhuang Yuan stores in China; 125 Jollibees outside the Philippines, including 62 in Vietnam and 32 in the US; and a chain of Chowkings in the US and Middle East.

    It also has a 50 per cent stake in Vietnamese chains Highlands Coffee, which has 78 stores in Vietnam and the Philippines, and Pho 24 which has 53 restaurants in Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Cambodia, Macau and Korea; and in 12 Sabu, which has 19 stores in China.

    Jollibee says system-wide retail sales grew a faster 13.3 per cent in 2014, including company-owned and franchised stores.

    Jollibee’s CFO Ysmael V. Baysa said profitability would have been higher if not for increased raw material costs last year.

    “The raw material cost increases in 2014, averaging 5.4 per cent, brought pressure on our profit margins. We made important price adjustments and improved our store and manufacturing expenses during the year. We are now very close to fully covering these cost increases and look forward to the full recovery and improvement in gross profit margins in 2015 through lower cost of energy and more stable raw material prices,” he said.

    “We will also offer even better products to our consumers to help ensure our products continue to provide them great value.”

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  • Lazada Philippines guns for more mobile footprint

    Lazada Philippines guns for more mobile footprint

    Online shopping mall Lazada is cooking up a revolution. On the 25th of February, a national holiday in the Philippines observed annually to commemorate the anniversary of a popular uprising, it is holding a one-day shopping event exclusive to mobile shoppers.

    Inanc Balci, CEO of Lazada Philippines, believes that the timing is right for the mobile power sale. Mobile traffic, he said, now constitutes more than 50 percent of daily traffic of Lazada.com.ph. The Lazada Mobile App downloads have also grown 18 percent month-on-month on iOS and Android since its launch in early 2014.

    This, he said, is being driven in large part by the increasing adoption of smartphones and mobile Internet in the country.

    “The smartphone penetration is expected to hit 50 percent within 2015, which means tripling the number within the year, increasing 22 percent year-over-year in the last two years,” Balci said.

    The country’s 16.7 million mobile Internet users (in a population of over 100 million) is indeed a huge market and still has huge potential for growth.

    While infrastructure remains a challenge in the country with often slow Internet connectivity, and expensive, limited bandwidth, local telecommunications companies are relentless in providing innovative mobile Internet solutions through mobile Internet bundles and freebies.

    “The mobile Internet access is increasing tremendously in the Philippines. Thanks to telco companies, they are making more investments and more people can access the Internet. The mobile phone manufacturers – the local brands – are also coming up with new products that are making it easier for Filipinos to buy smartphones,” he said.

    The availability of applications and the coming of music streaming services have also made it more appealing for digital consumers to increase their usage of their smartphones.

    “Yes, people are buying smartphones but we want people to use their smartphones as well for various applications and to enable them to live easier lives,” Balci said.

    Up for grabs in the upcoming one-day flash sale include consumer electronics devices, including Apple’s iPhone 6, Cherry Mobile’s Me Vibe, Meizu’s MX4 and a wide assortment of power banks at attractive price points.

    Not surprisingly, Balci said 60 percent of those who shop via mobile are female customers between the ages of 24-35, which is slightly higher than the desktop average but at the same time significantly higher than the regional average. Overall, Lazada customers are between the ages of 18 and 25.

    Fashion, health and beauty, electronics, as well as home and living items are currently the most search and bought items via mobile.

    The Lazada chief disclosed that Lazada mobile also tend to shop during lunch breaks (from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.) and before they go to bed (from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. Each mobile app and mobile browser user spends an average of 5 minutes shopping online;

    The holiday could give mobile users a breathing space from the daily grind and more time to shop.

    Mobility and convenience

    By pursuing a sales pitch anchored on mobility and convenience, Lazada is hoping more Filipinos will warm up to the idea of mobile shopping.

    Balci noted that the Philippines has also over a one-million strong workforce in the business process outsourcing industry (BPO), working in shifts in all time-zones across the world.

    “Their time shifts allow them to have more shopping hours. They are tech savvy and has high disposable incomes,” he said, adding that Lazada data shows that there is a sales increase after midnight during the graveyard shift.

    In an interview with Maximilian Bittner, CEO of Lazada Group, last year, he told Enterprise Innovation the challenges in setting up general merchandize destination websites in Southeast Asia, are huge. However, the opportunity is equally big, given the steady rise of mobile phone ownership and growing economies in the region.

    Since the launch of the e-commerce sites in five Southeast Asian countries in 2012 – Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam – the company has been striving to address the specific needs each market.

    Balci is pursuing the same track in the Philippines with its strong focus on the customer experience.

    “We started investing in mobile early. When we came to the Philippines, we knew that despite mobile penetration being low, it is increasing very high,” Lazada

    One of the important issues on online shopping the company has addressed in the Philippines is the low penetration of credit cards.

    By offering to accept cash on delivery, it has allowed shoppers with no credit cards to shop online. Currently, majority of its customers said in a recent survey that paying for purchases upon delivery is what they like most about shopping on Lazada, followed by option to pay on installment and other flexible payment schemes. It has also thrown in other perks such as extensive warranty commitments and free returns.

    In a price sensitive market, another strategy is providing dedicated deals and discounts on the mobile platform.

    “Everyday, we curate a group of products and we offer them at the lowest prices on mobile in order to give the customer an incentive to use this new way of shopping,” Balci said.

    This is on top of the big deals that the online shopping mall regularly provides customers such as the mobile power sale this week.

    Shopper experience

    “The user experience is very important because it is easy to come up with an app, but if you don’t come up with the right app, then you end up hurting the e-commerce experience because e-commerce, m-commerce or social commerce is a big ecosystem. You need to cover everything by providing the same experience.

    Balci said Lazada works closely with smartphone brands, especially the local manufacturers, in working to enhance the mobile experience for users.

    “Keeping in mind that the purchase rate is higher on the mobile platform, it is very important for us to meet the needs of these customers,” he said.

    With its success in the online retail space, Balci said the company has no plans to venture into offline retail, and prefers to remain a pure-play e-commerce player.

    “We are very focused on online marketing, which we think is the most efficient way of marketing and we want Lazada to be perceived as a purely online shopping mall,” he said.

    Although mobile commerce started slow in the Philippines because of the limited infrastructure and low smartphone adoption, the growth is huge that Balci said the country is poised to be one of the largest e-commerce market in Southeast Asia in two to three years.

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  • Online pawn debuts in Philippines

    Online pawn debuts in Philippines

    Pioneer online pawnshop PawnHero has come to the rescue of Filipinos with urgent cash needs.

    In the Philippines, only two out of 10 Filipinos have bank accounts and fewer than five per cent have credit cards. Most don’t have access to affordable credit. As such, many fall prey to loan sharks or turn to physical pawnshops, which charge high interest rates.

    Launching this week, PawnHero (https://pawnhero.ph) – Southeast Asia’s first online pawnshop – seeks to solve the problem of expensive credit for ‘base-of-the-pyramid consumers’ in emerging markets.

    “We provide an easy, fair, and convenient way of overcoming short­-term cash needs. This is a completely new way of doing business in the industry,” chairman and co-founder David Margendorff told.

    Unlike bricks-and-mortar pawnshops in the Philippines, which usually only accept jewellery, PawnHero also accepts gadgets, electronics, and luxury handbags.

    All customers need to do is take a picture of the valuable they wish to pawn and in minutes, they’ll receive an estimate for their item. They can choose to have the item picked up by PawnHero’s logistics partner 2GO or to drop it off at any of the over 900 affiliated 2GO outlets nationwide. The whole process isn’t only convenient, it also breaks the stigma around pawnshops as it eliminates the need to line up at physical outlets, which can be embarrassing and intimidating for some.

    “You need not have a bank account. We will provide you with a free PawnHero Card, a debit card you can use at any ATM nationwide, shop at any Bancnet-accredited merchant, or online store. Your money will be deposited to your account immediately after we have received and appraised your item. Packages are fully insured and shipping is on us,” explains Margendorff.

    “When it’s time to redeem your item, you may simply contact one of our customer representatives or use your PawnHero Card to pay for your loan and the company will ship back the item to you, again fully insured and free of shipping charges,” he said.

    PawnHero goes all out to give traditional pawnshops a run for their money. Because of the use of technology, it is able to offer half of the monthly interest physical pawnshops offer, according to Margendorff. Even better, he says, “there are no hidden costs and no penalties for late payments”.

    Margendorff says consumers may also sell their valuables to the platform and eventually, the platform will launch an eCommerce feature to sell unclaimed loaned items at affordable prices.

    “It’s a more convenient solution than eBay or OLX since you wouldn’t need to research the price for your item or create an ad or wait for a potential buyer. We’ll take care of everything, even shipments,” boasts Margendorff.

    PawnHero is the first such platform in Southeast Asia, but the concept itself is already proven in mature markets like the UK and the US where online pawnshops iPawn.com, Pawngo.com, andBorro.com operate.

    Emerging markets, particularly the Philippines, could be profitable for online pawnshops, if they are successful in capturing the customers of traditional outlets. Traditional pawnshops in the Philippines have grown from around 4000 in 1995 to over 17,500 today, compared to only 9000 banks, according to Margendorff. The total estimated loan volume recorded by pawnshops has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 27 per cent since 1995 to about US$1 billion in 2014. An estimated one million Filipinos visit pawnshops every day.

    But with its online-only presence, PawnHero faces challenges, too. For instance, clients who pawn are likely in need of cash on the spot and the waiting time for shipping could be a hindrance. Some clients may also be hesitant to send their valuables without receiving cash right away.

    Margendorff says they’re trying to work around these concerns.

    “I agree that PawnHero might be less interesting for those who need money on the spot. But we’ve put a lot of hours into making the value chain more efficient to provide the best customer experience possible. To give you an example, if you inquire about a loan on a weekday morning and accept our estimate before lunch, the item will be picked up the same day, even on Saturdays. It will be delivered and appraised before midnight.

    “If you think about how much time and hassle you save from travelling back and forward to multiple pawnshops to get an appraisal for your item or renew your loan, I believe we can make a big impact.

    “We went out on the street to ask our future customers how they would feel about a delayed payment. We were amazed by the result. Out of those who went to a pawnshop before, 63 per cent feel comfortable with the delayed payout, while 67 per cent feel safe with 2GO picking up their items. 2GO already has a strong brand in the Philippines. Once items are picked ­up, they are kept in one secure storage facility, and in the unlikely event that an item gets lost or stolen, PawnHero will pay for the damage – up to the initial estimate or agreed loan amount.”

    Margendorff has a strong background in the Philippine financial system. He was among the first on the ground to build financial comparison site MoneyMax in the Philippines. During this stint, his team met with banks and learned how only a small portion of the population had access to credit cards and other banking products.

    He began to wonder: what was the immediate option for Filipinos?

    “I started researching and found that 72 per cent of the population went to a pawnshop before. Pawnshops outperform the number of banks in the country. That was when the idea for PawnHero was born.”

    He got seed investment from Hatchd Digital, led by angel investors Manny Ayala and Nix Nolledo, and then worked on building the platform, growing the team, incorporating, and applying for a pawnbroker license from the central bank. Its partner 2GO also invested in the start-up.

    Margendorff says they’re trying to get more investors on board. Receiving their license in January was a key to raising more funds.

    “We spoke to VCs like IMJ, Golden Gate Ventures, Softbank, and Kickstart – just to name a few. All of them really liked the concept but without the license and a single customer, it was too early for them to invest. Now that we are just about to launch, we can continue speaking with them and others.”

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  • McDonald’s Philippines marries value meals with mobile access

    McDonald’s Philippines marries value meals with mobile access

    McDonald’s Philippines has partnered with mobile services provider Smart Communications in its latest marketing promo to encourage customers to purchase value meals.

    Every order of any McDonald’s Value Meal plus fries or sundae comes with a free Smart messaging coupon that gives customers a whole day of unlimited text and unlimited access to mobile chat apps.

    The Philippines has about 102.8 million mobile subscriptions in 2013 or over 100 percent of the population, according to data from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). Most people, however, are on prepaid subscription.

    The Smart messaging coupons to be given away with the meals gives a prepaid subscriber all-day access to SMS and chat apps such as Facebook Messenger, Line, Viber, WeChat and Whatapp – without need for WiFi connection.

    “Our subscribers can expect more perks and freebies as we move toward further enriching their mobile lifestyle,” said Joel Lumanlan, Smart Prepaid head.

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  • Philippine telcos unveil more payment options for digital goods

    Philippine telcos unveil more payment options for digital goods

    Telecommunications companies in the Philippines are making it easier for Filipino shoppers to purchase digital goods such as apps, games, books, magazines, music and movies.

    With only around four percent of Filipinos owning credit cards, according to the CIA Fact Book in 2013, it is difficult for consumers to participate in e-commerce and fully enjoy a digital lifestyle.

    With the direct carrier billing service now provided by both Smart Communications Inc. the and Globe Telecom, it is expected that

    The pay-with-load service of Smart Communications, dubbed Pay-With-Mobile, unveiled on Friday, allows subscribers to purchase from the App Store and iTunes using prepaid load or to charge the purchase to their monthly phone bill.

    The service, which Smart said will be fully available on 18 February, eliminates the need for a credit card to make in-app purchases, which has long been a barrier for many Philippine shoppers.

    Smart said a 15 percent premium will be charged on top of the published App Store and iTunes rates to account for VAT (value-added tax) and foreign exchange rate difference in US dollars.

    To get started, users need to register their mobile number to get a Pay-With-Mobile number, which they can enroll in their Apple ID account to start making purchases.

    “Smart understands that not everyone owns a credit card, but that shouldn’t stop people from realizing the full potential of their mobile devices,” said Charles Lim, EVP and Wireless Consumer Division Head at Smart.

    Globe Telecom, for its part, has earlier launched its own direct carrier billing services for in-app purchase on Google Play last October.

    For Apple customers, Globe susbscribers can purchase from the Apple App store through the GCash American Express Virtual Pay, a service it introduced in 2012.

    Globe said app purchases comprise 27 percent of total GCash American Express Virtual Play purchases. Meanwhile, Google Play Store app purchases has more than doubled since its launch last October.

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  • Philippines’ Robinsons to put up 7 new malls

    Philippines’ Robinsons to put up 7 new malls

    Robinsons Land Corp. (RLC), the property development arm of tycoon John Gokongwei, is opening more shopping centers over the next two years as it intends to retain its foothold as among the top mall developers in the country.

    RLC said it intends to put up seven new shopping centers and expand three existing malls in the next two years.

  • Puregold acquires 9 supermarts north of Metro Manila

    Puregold acquires 9 supermarts north of Metro Manila

    Puregold Price Club Inc. of retail tycoon Lucio Co is expanding its presence in Nueva Ecija and other provinces north of Metro Manila as it gobbles up more supermarkets and commercial properties owned by Nueva Ecija-based retailer NE Inc. Puregold told the local bourse on Wednesday that it acquired nine supermarkets located in Cabanatuan and San Jose, Nueva Ecija; Baliwag, Bulacan; Baler, Aurora and Santiago, Isabela.

  • PH opens mammoth casino-resort, seeking high-rollers

    PH opens mammoth casino-resort, seeking high-rollers

    The new casino is an imposing structure on Manila Bay with 6 gleaming golden towers surrounding a giant egg-shaped dome, and industry and government leaders hope it will attract cashed-up tourists from other parts of Asia

    Tourist and casino players arrive at the grand opening of the City of Dreams mega-casino in Manila on February 2, 2015. Photo by Jay Directo/AFP

    Manila aims to rival Macau and Las Vegas in terms of gaming revenues, and the “City of Dreams” is the latest in a string of casinos that have opened in recent years.

    The new casino is an imposing structure on Manila Bay with 6 gleaming golden towers surrounding a giant egg-shaped dome, and industry and government leaders hope it will attract cashed-up tourists from other parts of Asia.

    The casino is a joint venture between the country’s richest man Henry Sy, Australian billionaire James Packer and Lawrence Ho, son of Macau casinomogul Stanley Ho.

    “The goal is to find the best (sites) in Asia … The Philippines is one of the fastest growing economies anywhere in the world. We’ve seen the market really pick up,” Ho told reporters.

    Australian billionaire James Packer (right) and Melco crown co-chairman and with his co-chairman Lawrence Ho (center) during a press conference on the opening of the City of Dreams mega-casino in Manila on February 2, 2015. Photo by Ted Aljibe/AFP

    Ho also acknowledged the huge cost of building the resort. The Philippine government requires a minimum $1 billion investment for new casinos built in the area.

    Packer said jokingly that the resort was inspired by Hollywood movies “Casino” and “Oceans Eleven,” and Robert de Niro, Martin Scorsese, and Leonardo DiCaprio have appeared on giant billboards and TV commercials to promote the casino.

    The 6.2-hectare complex is the second of 4 mega resorts to open on reclaimed portions of the bay, just a few hundred meters from the city’s slum communities.

    The City of Dreams’ golden dome, called the “Fortune Egg,” houses two exclusive nightclubs, including Pangaea, where Picasso copies hang beside pictures of safari animals on walls covered in fake snakeskin.

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  • Wings chain lands in Philippines

    Wings chain lands in Philippines

    US-based Buffalo Wild Wings opened its first restaurant in the Philippines on Thursday, (January 29).

    The new restaurant at Capitol Commons in Pasig City is the first of several to open in the Southeast Asian country, joining more than 1070 Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants in North America.

    “Between our fresh, diverse menu and sports centric dining experience, we are confident that Filipinos will enjoy this new option for watching their favorite sporting events,” said Sally Smith, CEO and president.

    Aside from delivering on its mantra of ‘Wings. Beer. Sports.’ Buffalo Wild Wings locations will feature the company’s new restaurant design, which provides the ultimate sports viewing experience while bringing the look and feel of the stadium experience into the restaurant.

    The Philippines is the third overseas market the chain is expanding into, after Canada and Mexico.

    “What we’ve found through our international expansion is that true passion for sports and the camaraderie that comes with watching a big game with family and friends is a universal phenomenon,” said Smith.

    Buffalo Wild Wings serves Buffalo, New York-style chicken wings, available in 21 signature sauces and seasonings, ranging from Sweet BBQ to Blazin’. It also offers a full menu of burgers, appetisers and thin-crust flatbreads, all designed to be shared with friends, and a wide selection of beers.

    Each restaurant has an extensive multi-media system that features large wall-to-wall high-definition televisions for excellent sports viewing.

    The Pasig City restaurant is operated by The Bistro Group, which currently owns and operates 10 restaurant concepts, a culinary centre (The Bistro Academy) comprised of international franchises, as well as homegrown brands. The franchise group expects to open multiple Buffalo Wild Wings restaurants in the Philippines over the coming years.

    Buffalo Wild Wings will soon expand into Dubai and Saudi Arabia later in 2015 and is eyeing other international market opportunities.

    “As we explore new markets, we take the time to learn about the countries, cultures and potential partners,” said Smith. “We’re pleased to be working with a franchise partner in the Philippines who understands the needs and interests of this dynamic, evolving market, as well as our target guest, and shares our philosophy of bringing people together through great food and sports.”

  • Massive 7-Eleven rollout planned

    Massive 7-Eleven rollout planned

    Listed Philippine Seven Corporation (PSC), the local licensee of 7-Eleven Convenience Stores, will boost its capital spend this year by 50 per cent to expand its network.

    The company says it ended 2014 with 1282 stores – 273 more than at the same time a year earlier. It opened 286 and closed 13 during the year.

    Now it says it will spend P3 billion (US$68 million) in 2015 to fund an “accelerated store expansion strategy”.

    Some 350 stores could be added by the end of the calendar year with PSC eager to take the brand further beyond metro Manila.

    Jose Victor Paterno, president and CEO, said the long-term growth prospects for convenience store retailing in the nation are favorable.

    He believes the organisation can sustain its momentum to meet earnings and store expansion goals.

    “PSC has taken steps to protect and expand its leadership in light of increased competition, recognising that rewards for market share are especially strong in the convenience store sector.”

    Philippine Seven Corporation operates the largest convenience store network in the country. It acquired the licence for 7-Eleven in the Philippines from Southland Corporation (now Seven Eleven Inc.) of Dallas, Texas in December 1982.

  • SSI launches online store in Philippines

    SSI launches online store in Philippines

    An online store recently launched in the Philippines by Stores Specialists will soon become the nation’s online gateway to global brands.

    Stores Specialists Inc is a member of the SSI Group, the number one lifestyle specialty retailer in the Philippines, a member of the Rustan’s Group of companies. It manages leading fashion, luxury and lifestyle brands like Gucci, Prada, Anne Klein, Ferragamo, Michael Kors, Hamley’s and Pottery Barn.

    The new website, SSI Life offers shoppers the opportunity to purchase a curated array of products from the SSI Group’s roster of brands in a convenient ‘anytime-anywhere’ online platform.

    The site carries a curated array of products from 25 international brands now, with more to be added in the following months. The site currently includes a selection from Marks & Spencer, TWG Tea, Oliviers & Co, Payless Shoe Source, Nine West, Aerosoles, Bass, Superga, Steve Madden, MBT, OkaB, A/X Armani Exchange, Replay, High Sierra, Samsonite, Make Room & More and Beauty Bar.

    Anton Huang, president of SSI Group, Inc, says the website offers shoppers the opportunity to purchase from SSI’s portfolio of international brands while experiencing the same premium service the company is trusted for at store level, on an online platform.

    “We are the only eCommerce participant that is able to implement an Omni-channel approach, where our bricks and mortar stores will complement the online shopping experience of our customers and vice-versa,” he said.

    In time the company will take its growing portfolio of international brands – now numbering 106 – in over 600 store locations, to a 24-seven digital retail platform.

    “We will deliver our commitment of “Bringing the Best of the World to the Philippines” to a poised and ready growing online lifestyle shopping market,” said Huang.

    SSI says it is committed to customer satisfaction not just through its selection of brands, but with a guarantee to deliver a unique digital shopping experience. Through SSI Life, customers are able to tailor their shopping experience with options to browse and purchase online or browse online and purchase offline in stores.

    More brands will be added in the months to come following the site’s soft launch last November with an initial 17.

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  • Index seals deal for Philippines

    Index seals deal for Philippines

    Thai homewares giant Index Living Mall has signed a Philippines partner as its Asian expansion continues.

    Index will team up with the Philippines largest retail and mall operator SM Group to run the franchise for the concept for at least five years.

    Index managing director Kridchanok Patamasatayasonthi told the Bangkok Post newspaper Index chose the Philippines due to its huge market potential.

    “There’s no furniture or furnishings chain like us in the country, just small local and imported furniture stores.”

    Index opened its first store in Vietnam about three years ago and its first in Malaysia last month, in the capital city of Putrajaya. It plans 30 stores across Malaysia over a 15-20 year timeline.

    The company is also eyeing opportunities in Indonesia and hopes to double its foreign sales within five years. It will soon have 25 stores in its home market.

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