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Tag: Philippines

  • Uniqlo Opens Biggest Southeast Asian Store in Manila

    Uniqlo Opens Biggest Southeast Asian Store in Manila

    Uniqlo opened its largest Southeast Asian store yet on Friday, in Manila’s Glorietta 5 shopping centre.

    The store spans two floors with more than 4000sqm in retail space. The Japanese fast-fashion brand’s 15th global flagship, it has been likened to its stores in Paris, Oxford Street in London, Orchard Road in Singapore and on New York’s Fifth Avenue.

    “The new store offers local and international customers a huge shopping area and a world-class immersive shopping experience featuring large visual displays and state-of-the-art design concepts,” said Uniqlo in a statement.

    “As with other global flagship stores, it will also showcase the full lineup of LifeWear for men, women, kids and babies.”

    Uniqlo Philippines has been running a nationwide campaign as a lead-up to the store’s launch, called ‘Our Future Is Here’. The fast-fashion retailer has been inviting customers to nominate Filipinos who they believe are leaders in sports, film, music, culture, design, and other disciplines, influencing the nation’s future.

    As part of that campaign, an installation from local artist Leeroy New takes centrestage on the store’s second floor.

    “The great success of Uniqlo Philippines is thanks to our customers here,” said John Jay, president for global creative at Uniqlo’s parent, Fast Retailing.

    “The Our Future Is Here campaign is an exciting opportunity to deepen our connection with the city of Manila through our global flagship store, to engage communities and celebrate the innovators who will shape its future.”

    Opening its largest Southeast Asian store in Manila is testament to the Uniqlo brand’s strength in the Philippines.

    The store’s ground floor features the brand’s basics range including its Airism and HeatTech ranges, while the second floor hosts Uniqlo U and Uniqlo UT t-shirt collaborations.

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  • Philippines finally sets terms of third telco selection

    Philippines finally sets terms of third telco selection

    The Philippines’ telecoms ministry and regulator has finally published the formal terms of the selection process for the market’s third operator.

    The final terms of reference for the beauty contest style selection process have been released by the Department of Information and Communications Technology and National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).

    Compared to the most recent draft, the final terms give a heavier weight to guaranteed internet speeds and allow more flexible terms on payment of performance security bonds, the report states.

    Now that the terms have been released, the NTC plans to commence the sale of bid documents for 1 million pesos ($18,450) each on October 6, and has set a bid submission deadline of November 5.

    A winner will be selected based on the highest committed level of service, including population coverage and internet speed promises, over a five-year commitment period.

    With the modified weighting, the most important criteria is now national population coverage, which will be weighted at 40%. The weighting for capex and opex commitments has meanwhile been decreased to 35% with the weight for minimum average broadband speed increased to 25%.

    The draft terms of reference for the selection of the third telco to break the Philippines’ telecoms duopoly of Globe and PLDT were released in February.

    These terms have been subject to multiple revisions, delaying the selection process. But after Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte threatened to personally intervene in the process and select a winner himself in “about 30 minutes,” the regulator responded by quickly reaching agreement on the final terms.

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  • Jollibee expanding in Hong Kong

    Jollibee expanding in Hong Kong

    “It feels like you’re back home,” said Filipino Joanna Galabay, a long-time foreign domestic worker in Hong Kong, as she munched on a drumstick at a Jollibee’s branch on Connaught Road.

    Singaporean bags-and-shoes chain Charles & Keith opened its first branch in the upscale New Town Plaza in Sha Tin last month, and will open its second outlet – at Parker House in Central – in November. It has committed to opening another store in the city, and told it plans to “expand cautiously to 10 locations in the next five years.” It has branches in the Philippines and Indonesia so is well known to the city’s domestic helpers

    Potato Corner, which now has four outlets in Hong Kong, said a branch in Central is in the pipeline. The restaurant chain started in the Philippines but, as part of its international expansion, took off as well in Indonesia.

    “For Southeast Asian brands in particular, Hong Kong has a unique advantage for having a long-established Southeast Asian population,” said retail analyst Lawrence Wan of CBRE Hong Kong. “ … You can see their restaurants opening in prime areas. The lifestyle and trendy fast fashion brands from Southeast Asia are also gaining steam.”

    The number of Southeast Asian companies in Hong Kong rose 17 per cent between 2013 and 2017, with the city now having 586 such businesses, according to the government’s Census & Statistics Department. In addition to players like J. CO Donuts & Coffee of Indonesia, and Bread Talk and Irvins Salted Egg, both from Singapore, they include big multinationals, such as the Development Bank of Singapore and the United Overseas Bank, also from the Southeast Asian city state.

    Hundreds of thousands of maids fan out on their Sunday day off in this city of 7.4 million people. Filipino maids often meet their friends at Jollibee, for example, chatting, eating, snapping selfies and calling family back home. In April, visiting Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte created quite a stir when he sat down at the Hung Hom outlet of Jollibee and chatted with a Filipino maid. Indonesian helpers are also fans of Jollibee.

    The women have expanded the customer base of the brands by bringing home drumsticks, doughnuts and other treats with them when they return to their employers’ homes on Sunday nights. The Southeast Asian businesses have also simply grown by word of mouth.

    “We initially entered Hong Kong because of the large Filipino population in the market,” Jollibee’s media office said. “However, we are now seeing that our new stores have majority local customers, with more Hong Kong locals loving our Chickenjoy [chicken meals].”

    Potato Corner, which markets itself as the maker of the “world’s best flavoured fries”, said its Hong Kong stores achieved the “all-time record for highest single day sales” in the brand’s 25 years of operation. It didn’t give specifics.

    “Potato Corner is popular among Filipinos, and some of our most loyal regulars are Filipinos. Indonesians [are our loyal customers], too, as Potato Corner has a strong presence in Indonesia,” said Ryan Asis Maniago, managing director of UpFive Corporation Ltd., the master franchisee in Hong Kong.

    As Hong Kong’s population ages, its need for foreign domestic helpers will grow, with the number of helpers expected to jump to 600,000 over the next three decades, the government says. While their wages are modest – HK$4,520 (US$577) a month, plus living space in their employer’s home and food – their sheer number makes them a serious consumer base. They spend about a quarter of their wages in Hong Kong, according to a study by NGO Mission for Migrant Workers released in August. That would mean they are dropping about HK$5 billion (US$640 million) a year in the city.

    The number of Southeast Asian businesses is expected to grow under two free trade agreement between Hong Kong and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which represents the 10 countries of the region: Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Myanmar (also known as Burma), Cambodia, Laos and Brunei. The agreements go into effect next year.

    Consulate officials from the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand also noted that Hong Kong serves as a strategic gateway to China’s huge number of consumers, elevating its importance to businesses of the Asean member countries.

    However, businesses said in interviews that expansion is hampered by the city’s high rents. Also, some complained that it is difficult for them to set up bank accounts for their operations.

    “The cost of doing business in Hong Kong is more expensive compared with other countries, especially in rent,” Irvins Salted Egg said.

    The snack company said it is negotiating with a few landlords for some prime retail spaces in popular shopping malls.

    In 2017, Hong Kong’s Causeway Bay, home to one of Potato Corner’s branches, had the most expensive retail space in Asia, and second in the world behind New York.

    Property consultant Cushman & Wakefield said annual retail rentals in the trendy and popular shopping district on Hong Kong Island reached HK$21,255 (US$2,712) per square foot, just behind Upper 5th Avenue’s HK$23,400 (US$2,986) per square foot.

    While rents are high, the Thai Consulate applauded the city’s business-friendly tax system.

    “The simple tax system with no VAT and importing tax is also a selling point to Thai exporters,” the Thai Consulate-General said.

    There were 154 existing trademark registrations from Thailand in Hong Kong as of last year, a 77-per cent increase compared to 2016. Leading Thai brands in Hong Kong include Bangkok Bank, spa and spa products retailer Thann, and restaurant Blue Elephant.

    Thais have opened many small business in the city, including massage parlours and beauty and nail salons.

    The city’s attractiveness has grown to Southeast Asian businesses, some of which were quick to thank Filipino and Indonesian domestic helpers for getting them off to a solid start.

    Noemi Morgado, a Filipino maid working in Pok Fu Lam, is one such helpful ambassador. “Ever since I brought my employer’s family a bucket of Jollibee fried chicken on New Year’s, they have regularly asked me to bring some home after my day off,” said Morgado, holding three buckets of the chain’s fried chicken.

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  • Grab secures e-money license in the Philippines

    Grab secures e-money license in the Philippines

    Ride-hailing company Grab is expanding its mobile wallet services in the Philippines following receipt of an e-money license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

    Statistics from the central bank revealed that more than 98% of transactions in the Philippines still happen in cash, whereas 86% of people remain unbanked. Cash handling and services also cost millions of pesos a year to the banking industry.

    Besides its existing payments functions for ordering rides, express delivery and peer-to-peer credit transfer, Grab will soon be able to order food, pay their bills and purchases from their favorite stores and restaurants.

    As with rides, new services may help customers earn points with its GrabRewards loyalty program, with offers from partners such as SM Cinema, Cebu Pacific flights, McDonalds or Globe prepaid.

    The GrabPay mobile wallet built into the Grab app is designed to offer a low-entry barrier to secure cashless payment options for both consumers and merchants.

    The first feature to be launched by Grab under the e-money license will be the option to top-up prepaid load from the Grab app. Users in the Philippines who wish to top up their prepaid load, can tap the ‘Load Now’ bar below the GrabPay mobile wallet bar alongside other features including send, request and top up wallet.

    After entering the phone number to be topped up, they can select their top-up product. The request is sent to the telco service provider and receipt provided.

  • Foreigners Dominate the E-commerce market in Philippines

    Foreigners Dominate the E-commerce market in Philippines

    Local players in the Philippine e-marketplace reach more Filipinos in terms of social media activity. However, they struggle to establish a stronghold in terms of actual selling activity as international players are still the preferred choice for most Filipinos. It comes as a surprise that only a few international players dominate the country’s e-marketplace traffic activity.

    Based on Kuala Lumpur-based iPrice Group’s Map of eCommerce in the Philippines during the second quarter of 2018, there were more local active players.

    However, international players fueled market activity. In fact, the share of foreign players in the overall traffic accounted for 93 percent of the overall e-marketplace activity. Local players, on the other hand, only led in social media activity as they accounted for 75 percent of e-commerce activity from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter platforms.

    Foreign players

    There were only eight foreign players engaged in e-commerce traffic in the Philippines: Lazada, Shopee, Zalora, eBay, Sephora, Sophie Paris, My Sale and Melissa Philippines. Of these eight players, Lazada, Shopee, Zalora and eBay were the top four most visited e-marketplaces in the country. Of the four, Lazada had a dominant 68-percent market share, at least triple the size of its closest competitor, Shopee.

    This trend is unique to the Philippine market because in its regional counterparts Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, foreign players have less than half of the overall e-marketplace traffic activity with 45, 20 and 47 percent, respectively.

    For Indonesia and Singapore, local players Tokopedia and Qoo10 were the most visited e-marketplaces. The reason behind the dominance of international players in the Philippine e-marketplace was traced to the Filipinos’ online shopping preference that is mainly based on brand familiarity.

    In fact, according to a Kantar Worldpanel survey, 84 percent of Filipinos (out of 3,000 household surveyed) preferred to buy from established companies despite the alternatives available in the market.

    This specific Filipino consumer behavior affected the local e-commerce players as majority of them have just started operating in the e-marketplace.

    Another factor that influenced the dominance of international players in the Philippine e-marketplace was that majority of big local brick-and-mortar companies such as SM and Ayala malls were amplifying their online presence with e-marketplace partnerships with the more established players such as Lazada and Zalora instead of creating their own e-marketplaces.

    Meanwhile, the government’s project—road map of e-commerce—is mostly tied with international e-marketplaces wherein local brick-and-mortal companies and brands as well as MSMEs are encouraged to sell.

    More pressure

    While this will result in more customers and more jobs especially for MSMEs, it is putting pressure on the local players.

    The most visited local e-marketplace in the country is BeautyMNL, placing fifth overall with less than a million traffic. Meanwhile, Kimstore, a tech marketplace, placed ninth.

    The general e-marketplaces—Galleon, O Shopping and Takatack (which were previously in Q1 2018’s top e-commerce) all fell a notch, placing seventh, eighth and 11th, respectively.

    The only local e-commerce that accelerated in terms of ranking was Argomall as it jumped two notches to sixth in the overall e-commerce ranking.

    Interestingly, the majority of local players experienced inconsistency in traffic as there were occasions of leaps and slips. The e-marketplaces that saw increased traffic were Seek the Unique, Apartment 8 Clothing, Zeus, Straight Forward Clothing, Great Value Plus, Bayan Mall, TV Shop, Mall Hallo Hallo and CesaPH, which on the average rose in ranking by about seven notches.

    E-marketplaces that slipped in traffic were Adobomall, Watch Portal, Goods, Mommy Mundo, Bigmk, Abubot, which on the average declined in ranking by about eight notches.

    Despite the low market penetration and inconsistency in traffic of local players, the majority of local players found their market in social media.

    Overall, the local players dominated Instagram and Twitter as they attracted 70 and 51 percent, respectively, of the e-marketplace social media followers.

    Local marketplace

    The local fashion and beauty e-marketplaces: Apartment 8 Clothing, Sunnies Studios, BeautyMNL, Kimstore and CesaPH topped Instagram placing first, second, fifth, seventh and ninth, respectively.

    Meanwhile, social media activity for Facebook was taken over by international players as their share of social media followers in this platform accounted for 77 percent.

    Filipino consumers are among the most active on social media, spending an average of four hours a day.

    As such, Filipino consumers are highly exposed to brands leveraging their products in social media. Clearly, the popularity of social media is a huge opportunity marketplace for e-commerce and independent merchants alike.

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  • AirAsia to launch flights from Taiwan to Boracay

    AirAsia to launch flights from Taiwan to Boracay

    Low cost airline AirAsia announced on Monday that it will launch flights from Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport and Kaohsiung International Airport to Boracay, as scheduled to reopen on Oct 26.

    AirAsia said the flights from Taiwan to Boracay will stop over in Manila, adding that it will offer at least 20% discount flight tickets to customers in the Taiwan market, the report said.

    Discounted tickets for flights between Nov 6, 2018 and Mar 21, 2019 will be available for sale from now to Oct 21, with a one-way ticket selling for NT$2,696 before tax, the carrier announced.

    Boracay, an internationally famous island resort, was closed by the Philippines government on April 26 to rectify the environmental pollution problem that was caused by overdevelopment and tourism. The government has recently announced that the island will be reopened to visitors on Oct. 26 and there will be a limit on the number of visitors, according to the report.

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  • PLDT taps Amdocs for IT infrastructure automation

    PLDT taps Amdocs for IT infrastructure automation

    The Philippines’ PLDT has contracted Amdocs to transform its IT infrastructure under an expanded six-year service agreement.

    The new contract builds on a seven year master transformation agreement that will see Amdocs modernize PLDT’s IT applications and help introduce new digital technologies.

    Under the new deal, Amdocs will consolidate, modernize and manage the IT infrastructure of both PLDT and wireless subsidiary Smart.

    Amdocs plans to provide the operators with automation capabilities enabling the self-healing of errors and systems. PLDT and Smart plan to use operation automation to prepare for a journey to the cloud while reducing their operational costs.

    “Our successful collaboration with Amdocs gets stronger as we continue our digital journey,” PLDT president and CEO Manuel V. Pangilinan said.

    “This agreement will further boost our efforts to enhance customer experience and engagement. With Amdocs running and automating our IT operations, we will be better equipped to quickly launch innovative products and services to deliver a compelling digital experience to our customers.”

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  • Smart taps Samsung for VoWiFi service launch

    Smart taps Samsung for VoWiFi service launch

    PLDT’s mobile subsidiary Smart Communications has teamed up with Samsung for the launch of its voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) service.

    Smart said the service will initially available to selected subscribers by October after Samsung releases its latest firmware over-the-air update.

    Smart customers can make VoWiFi calls using Samsung smartphones such as the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+, Galaxy S9 and S9+, Note 8, and Note 9 via any WiFi connection like Smart WiFi and PLDT Home WiFi.

    VoWiFi, also known as WiFi calling, lets customers make and receive calls and text messages over a WiFi connection using their smartphone’s native dialer, without having to install a third-party app.

    Smart said WiFi calling will also be available soon to other select Samsung devices.

    Earlier this month, Smart made its first successful VoWiFi call over a live network in Cebu, in partnership with its technology partners Huawei and Samsung.

    Mario G. Tamayo, PLDT-Smart senior vice president for network planning and engineering, said the call is the first of its kind outside metro Manila, and “a key part of PLDT and Smart’s integrated efforts to continuously improve and evolve our voice services.”

    Last year, Smart also made the country’s first voice over LTE (VoLTE) mobile call, which uses LTE or 4G to conduct calls.

    Smart is also deploying carrier-grade Smart WiFi in high-traffic public places across the country, such as transportation hubs like MRT-3 and LRT-1 stations, major airports, bus terminals and seaports across the country, as well as in schools, government buildings, hospitals, malls and entertainment centers.

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  • Daiso Japan Launches Sakura-themed Store in Philippines

    Daiso Japan Launches Sakura-themed Store in Philippines

    Daiso Philippines has opened a Sakura-themed flagship store in Robinsons Galleria, Quezon City.

    Following the first store in Tuguegarao, the new one is inspired by the Sakura flowers and the Japanese culture of minimalism.

    The interior is designed with the elements of pale-coloured wood and stainless steel, with contrasting pink-coloured products, most notably Hello Kitty-themed perfumes, cosmetics and other products.

    “The inspiration behind the theme is basically Sakura being an iconic, and beloved flower of Japan and Daiso is in totality a representation of everything Japanese,” says Bernice Jayne Chioa-Bunoan, marketing services manager at Daiso Japan.

    More than 70,000 products ranging from kitchen essentials to stationery products to laundry utensils are sold from PHP88.

    Established in 1977 in Japan, Daiso now has 3000 stores all over the world. Daiso Philippines was launched in 2009.

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  • Filipino brand Bench opens in Dubai

    Filipino brand Bench opens in Dubai

    Philippine apparel brand Bench has opened in BurJuman, Dubai.

    The 1179sqft store offers women’s and men’s clothing and undergarments, perfumes and other products. The brand says it has been conspicuously welcomed by the Filipino community resident in Dubai.

    Bench has grown from its earliest incarnation as a t-shirt store in the late 1980s into an international clothing and lifestyle brand with numerous celebrity endorsements. The brand’s worldwide network of sales points includes the US, Middle East and China.

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  • Tencent, Hillhouse back MINISO

    Tencent, Hillhouse back MINISO

    Tencent and Hillhouse Capital have invested RMB1 billion (US$146 million) into fast-growing Chinese discount retailer Miniso.

    Founded just five years ago, Miniso has already grown to more than 3000 stores worldwide using what it describes as a “high quality, low price” philosophy.

    Three years ago, the China-headquartered retailer which pretends to be Japanese in its brand positioning and marketing, made its first foray abroad. One in three of its stores are now in overseas cities in 70 countries and markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, Taiwan, Macau, India, South Korea, North Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

    In a statement, Miniso said the strategic investment from Tencent and Hillhouse Capital will enhance cooperation in big data analysis, smart outlets, intelligent retail and digital operations, among other areas.

    “The investment of Tencent and Hillhouse Capital will help the future development of Miniso by improving its ability in terms of information technology, capital operation, corporate governance, etc. The investment will also expand its layout in the field of intelligent retail and accelerate overseas market expansion, so as to help Miniso achieve its medium-term strategic goals.”

    That goal is to have 10,000 stores trading in 100 countries with RMB 100 billion in sales by 2022.

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  • Elephant Grounds Is Opening In Manila soon

    Elephant Grounds Is Opening In Manila soon

    Hong Kong coffee shop Elephant Grounds will open in the Philippines.

    The popular micro-roaster and cafe, which launched in 2013, has five locations in Hong Kong. It is known for its wooden decor, garden-inspired interiors, bakery items and ice-cream sandwiches.

    The chain will open its first branch in the Philippines at One Bonifacio High Street Mall, Bonifacio Global City, by the end of this year.

  • Filipino chocolate brand to open store in Tokyo

    Filipino chocolate brand to open store in Tokyo

    Filipino chocolate brand Auro is expanding to Japan.

    The first Auro Chocolate store will open on October 7 in Frenity House in Shibuya City, a special ward of Tokyo. The brand was discovered during a trip to the Philippines by the father of the founder of Japanese distributor Kotowari, which is now exclusively representing the brand in Japan.

    Co-founder Mark Ocampo said: “They discovered us through social media. He bought all these chocolates from the Philippines and took them to Japan. They tried all the chocolates they had and chose us.”

    Kotowari will manage the approximately 20-30sqm Auro store in addition to promoting the brand in local hotels and restaurants. The said the deciding factor in distributing the Auro brand is the direct relationship between the chocolatier and the cacao farmers who supply beans. Auro assists the farmers with business administration training and quality control, helping to improve their quality of life.

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  • Panda Express Is Opening Soon In Manila

    Panda Express Is Opening Soon In Manila

    US restaurant chain Panda Express is heading to the Philippines.

    Jollibee Food Corp says it will launch Panda Express Philippines, dubbed “the Chinese kitchen” in North America, after creating a 50-50 joint venture with the parent Panda Restaurant Group.

    The first five Panda Express Philippines outlets will open in Metro Manila, after which other regional opportunities will be evaluated for the business.

    “With proven track records in providing great tasting food at a great value, JFC and Panda join hands to introduce American Chinese food, a globally-influenced cuisine inspired by authentic Chinese culinary principles, to the Philippines,” JFC said in a statement filed with the stock exchange.

    “We look forward to tapping into JFC’s market expertise to grow the Panda Express brand into a household name in the Philippines and, more importantly, actioning our shared value of inspiring people to better their lives,” added Andrew Cherng, co-founder and co-CEO of Panda.

    Jollibee Foods chairman Tony Tan Caktiong described Panda Express as an offer “very much in line” with Jollibee’s current portfolio of brands.

    Panda Express has stores worldwide, including networks in Korea, Japan and Russia.

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  • Jollibee to bring Panda Express to the Philippines

    Jollibee to bring Panda Express to the Philippines

    Jollibee Food Corp on Thursday said it would bring Panda Express to the Philippines, the popular “Chinese kitchen” in the US.

    The initial phase of the 50/50 joint venture between JFC and Panda Restaurant Group Inc intends to develop 5 Panda Express outlets in Metro Manila, JFC told the stock exchange.

    “With proven track records in providing great tasting food at a great value, JFC and Panda join hands to introduce American Chinese food, a globally-influenced cuisine inspired by authentic Chinese culinary principles, to the Philippines,” JFC said in a statement.

    JFC chairman Tony Tan Caktiong said Panda Express is “very much in line with JFC brand portfolio.”

    “We look forward to tapping into JFC’s market expertise to grow the Panda Express brand into a household name in the Philippines and, more importantly, actioning our shared value of inspiring people to better their lives,” Andrew Cherng, co-founder and co-CEO of Panda.

    Jollibee Group’s worldwide store network reached 4,324 as of Aug. 31, 2018.

    JFC said Panda Express has operations in the US, Canada, Mexico, Korea, Japan and Russia, among others.

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