The full report
How Global Brands are Shaping the Retailer Landscape is a biennial publication that provides an in-depth view of the international retailer situation in the Philippines.
The past two years alone welcomed 113 new foreign brands, with most locating in cities closer to the busy areas of Makati CBD, Ortigas Center, and Bonifacio Global City. The bulk of them are entering the food and beverage (F&B) and fast fashion segments, which are the more prominent categories in the local scene.
The F&B category makes up around 60 percent of all existing mall occupants—outnumbering all the rest of the retail categories combined—and is expected to thrive given the widespread dine-out culture among Filipinos. Contributing to the growing share of F&B are the increasing number of foreign players, especially those with Asian cuisine offerings. The previous year saw that 39 percent of the new entrants are F&B concepts.
Next to F&B, fast-fashion brands are also on the rise, owing to the young Filipinos’ quest for trendy and affordable finds. For 2016, about 40 percent of the new foreign brand entrants are under the categories of clothing, footwear, and bags.
Foreign brands are attracted to the country’s predominantly young demographic with strong purchasing power, backed by the growing local IT-BPM sector and Overseas Filipinos’ personal remittances.
Notwithstanding the already healthy demand for retail spaces, occupancy costs remain competitive as more developers are anticipating the surge in retail space supply, and are looking to fuel the entry and expansion of more foreign locators.
These trends accompanied by the strong economic performance of the country makes the Philippines an attractive destination for market expansion among global brands.
