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Tag: SSI Group

  • JV aims to boost Muji brand in Philippines

    JV aims to boost Muji brand in Philippines

    Specialty retailer SSI Group has signed a JV agreement with Japan’s Ryohin Keikaku in a bid to boost the Muji household supplies brand in the Philippines.

    SSI Group’s board of directors has approved the JV between its wholly owned subsidiary Stores Specialists and RKJ, dubbed Muji Philippines. It is expected to launch on April 1 with the mandate to own and run Muji stores in the Philippines.

    SSI Group says the move will enable cost efficiencies.

    Stores Specialists owns and runs specialty retailing boutiques for a range of international brands covering luxury, casualwear, fast fashion, footwear, luggage and accessories as well as personal-care brands. RKJ is engaged in the planning, development, procurement, logistics and processing of goods under the brand name Muji, as well as running Muji retail stores and wholesaling Muji goods.

    The deal is pegged at P175 million (US$3.5 million), with Store Specialists holding a 51 per cent stake. Store Specialists is investing more than P89.2 million, while RKJ is injecting up to P85.7 million.

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  • SSI Group profit dives

    SSI Group profit dives

    SSI Group saw its profit slashed by more than half – or 54.5 per cent – to P122 million (US$2.6 million) in the first quarter, from the same period a year ago.

    The Philippines’ largest specialty store retailer recorded a 7 per cent increase in revenues to P4.3 billion in the first quarter of 2016 – outperforming forecasts after the group added Mont Blanc to its brand portfolio and increased its network by 29 stores, SSI said.

    “SSI posted better-than-expected sales growth during the first quarter of the year as we leveraged on the strength of our brand portfolio and our store network,” said SSI president Anthony Huang.

    In the first quarter, SSI was operating 117 brands and 775 specialty stores covering more than 146,000 sqm, a 6 per cent year-on-year increase in the company’s retail footprint.

    “Through the rest of the year, we will continue to focus on top line growth and on maximizing the efficiencies of our store network,” said Huang.

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  • Charming Charlie to expand Asian network

    Charming Charlie to expand Asian network

    US retailer Charming Charlie has opened its pink doors in the Philippines.

    And following this Asian debut, the US-based fashion retailer is now eyeing Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea and China for expansion.

    The company had first expanded in Canada and the UAE before opening a store in Bonifacio High Street in Manila last year.

    With big and small fashion retailers crowding the Philippine market, Charming Charlie set its pricing at 30 to 40 per cent below its major rivals. Its upscale store houses up to 8000 accessories from jewellery to sunglasses, arranged by color.

    Founded in 2004 by Charlie Chanaratsopon in Houston, the brand seeks to capture the millennial market.

    Charming Charlie is distributed in the Philippines by SSI Group, Inc. and  has over 350 global retail stores.

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  • SSI hunts ASEAN retail brands

    SSI hunts ASEAN retail brands

    Leading Philippines retail group SSI says it is actively seeking to acquire brands and suppliers in the region that can help it build its ASEAN retail portfolio.

    “We continue to seek brands and suppliers that manufacture within the Asean region that would allow us to make the most of Asean free trade agreement. That is a key to our expansion and success in the recent past – to expand our retail concepts in new geographic areas,” SSI president Anthony T. Huang told the Manila Times.

    ASEAN, which comes into effect later this year, groups 10 economies in Southeast Asia, creating a free trade zone with less restricted borders. Participating countries are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

    “We’re hopeful because we have ongoing discussions [with potential acquisitions and partners] but nothing final at this time,” Huang said.

    “We’ve really been focused on the new acquisitions that we have to roll out next year and on the existing brand portfolio that we’re continuously rolling out and the continued expansion of FamilyMart,” he said.

    SSI is also in talks with other foreign brands outside the ASEAN group as it builds a portfolio of lifestyle and fashion brands. Its most recent deal was to partner with Canadian fashion label Joe Fresh.

    Huang says foreign brands find the Philippines appealing because the culture is westernised, it has a young population, strong growth and rising middle class with discretionary income.

    “We have the youngest population in the region. ‘Youngest market’, that’s the magic formula.

    “We’re seeing continued interest that many of the international retail concepts that should be in the market are in fact already in the market. But interests from new concepts are coming in to expand in the region,” he said in the interview.

    SSI’s portfolio already includes 115 brands.

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  • SSI Group enters travel retail arena

    SSI Group enters travel retail arena

    Philippines specialty store operator SSI Group has made its first foray into the travel retail sector.

    SSI, through a subsidiary SKL International, has bought a 50 per cent stake in Landmark Management Services which marks its debut in the increasingly lucrative travel retailing category.

    The stake was acquired from duty free distributor Prime and the Regent Asia Group.

    “We are very happy to be part of the development of the travel retail industry. We believe that with SSI’s retailing experience and Landmark’s deep understanding of the unique shopping requirements of travelers, we can expand our market to cover tourists and business travelers,” SSI President Anthony Huang said in a statement.

    Landmark operates duty free and travel retail fashion stores at the Philippines’ larger airports as well as at Fiesta Mall in downtown Manila, under a concession from Duty Free Philippines.

    SSI Group ended last year with 723 specialty stores and 134,000 sqm of retail trading area and was planning to open a further 130 this year, outside this week’s acquisition. The company’s brand portfolio includes Marks and Spencer, Gucci, Burberry, Hermès, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, Lacoste, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Gap, Bershka, Aeropostale, Samsonite, Nine West and Payless Shoe Source.