Filipino retailer broadens GCC operations
Filipino casual clothing retailer Penshoppe will open its first store in the UAE in Dubai on October 15 as part of a larger scheme to rachet up exposure for its brand in the Middle East. Penshoppe already has stores in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
A subsidiary of Golden ABC Inc, Penshoppe has garnered a large following in the Philippines for its line of casual wear sold at affordable prices. With a growing number of overseas Filipinos in the Middle East, the brand has been able to gain momentum through the support of these workers, which have assisted in establishing credibility with local customers.
“The number of international Penshoppe boutiques has been growing exponentially and we could not be more pleased with the reception of the brand in [the Middle East],” Bernie Liu, president of Golden ABC Inc, told the Philippine Inquirer.
The first Dubai outlet is slated to open up in the Reef Mall in Deira, a focal point of shopping culture in the emirates, with a second location to come in December at the brand-new Hamsah Commercial Complex in Al Karama district.
Albert Ong, Golden ABC Inc vice president for business development, told reporters that the five-year expansion plan in the region includes future stores in Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan and Israel.
Penshoppe’s global expansion strategy is dependent on franchises, with the company responsible for managing central inventory.
The conspicuously growing number of overseas Filipinos in the region has been the catalyst for the Middle East’s prominent part of expansion efforts. In Saudi Arabia outlets, some 95 per cent of shoppers were originally from the Philippines.
However, gathering local interest became the key to stepping up the operation’s success. Some 30 to 35 per cent of customers in the seven stores located in Saudi Arabia are now local, Ong told the Inquirer.
Penshoppe will have 10 stores in the Middle East all together with the opening of the Dubai outlets, including one in Manama, Bahrain. Existing Penshoppe’s stores in Saudi Arabia are in Jeddah, Riyadh, Al Jubail, Al Khobar and Dammam.
Filipino casual clothing retailer Penshoppe will open its first store in the UAE in Dubai on October 15 as part of a larger scheme to rachet up exposure for its brand in the Middle East. Penshoppe already has stores in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. A subsidiary of Golden ABC Inc, Penshoppe has garnered a large following in the Philippines for its line of casual wear sold at affordable prices. With a growing number of overseas Filipinos in the Middle East, the brand has been able to gain momentum through the support of these workers, which have assisted in establishing credibility...
Filipino casual clothing retailer Penshoppe will open its first store in the UAE in Dubai on October 15 as part of a larger scheme to rachet up exposure for its brand in the Middle East. Penshoppe already has stores in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
A subsidiary of Golden ABC Inc, Penshoppe has garnered a large following in the Philippines for its line of casual wear sold at affordable prices. With a growing number of overseas Filipinos in the Middle East, the brand has been able to gain momentum through the support of these workers, which have assisted in establishing credibility with local customers.
“The number of international Penshoppe boutiques has been growing exponentially and we could not be more pleased with the reception of the brand in [the Middle East],” Bernie Liu, president of Golden ABC Inc, told the Philippine Inquirer.
The first Dubai outlet is slated to open up in the Reef Mall in Deira, a focal point of shopping culture in the emirates, with a second location to come in December at the brand-new Hamsah Commercial Complex in Al Karama district.
Albert Ong, Golden ABC Inc vice president for business development, told reporters that the five-year expansion plan in the region includes future stores in Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Jordan and Israel.
Penshoppe’s global expansion strategy is dependent on franchises, with the company responsible for managing central inventory.
The conspicuously growing number of overseas Filipinos in the region has been the catalyst for the Middle East’s prominent part of expansion efforts. In Saudi Arabia outlets, some 95 per cent of shoppers were originally from the Philippines.
However, gathering local interest became the key to stepping up the operation’s success. Some 30 to 35 per cent of customers in the seven stores located in Saudi Arabia are now local, Ong told the Inquirer.
Penshoppe will have 10 stores in the Middle East all together with the opening of the Dubai outlets, including one in Manama, Bahrain. Existing Penshoppe’s stores in Saudi Arabia are in Jeddah, Riyadh, Al Jubail, Al Khobar and Dammam.
