Golden ABC has realized that retail growth is getting less about counting stores and more about making each one worth the trip.
The Philippine fashion retailer is pouring about P1 billion into capital expenditures this year, expanding and renovating its network while testing new concepts designed around how consumers shop, socialize and spend.
“We’re very aggressive and very hopeful with our growth,” Golden ABC President Alice Liu said on the sidelines of the Philippine Retailers Association’s National Retail Conference and Exhibition.
The company expects to open or renovate more than 100 stores across its six brands, Penshoppe, Regatta, Memo, ForMe, OXGN and BOCU. By year-end, it expects to operate more than 1,000 company-owned stores nationwide, with much of the expansion concentrated in Metro Manila and the Greater Manila Area.
But the headline number is not the whole story. Golden ABC is deliberately keeping its store count under control, closing locations where markets have shifted while giving successful sites more room.
“We might have the same number of sites, but they’re going to be bigger stores,” Liu said.
It is a calculated shift in retail strategy. Bigger stores offer more room to showcase products and create experiences, but they also demand stronger sales and productivity to justify the added space.
The company is also exploring what happens when fashion spills beyond clothing.
Its SIP concept puts a fashion-inspired coffee experience inside selected Penshoppe stores, reflecting a younger consumer base that increasingly treats retail spaces as places to meet and linger.
“Young people now already have coffee. They want to hang out. They don’t just want to shop,” Liu said.
Golden ABC wants SIP to feel less like another coffee chain and more like an extension of Penshoppe’s fashion identity. More concepts are expected before year-end, although details remain closely held.
The strategy follows double-digit growth last year and a strong first quarter, although geopolitical tensions weighed on consumer spending in the second quarter.
With nearly 5,000 employees and substantial sourcing from Philippine manufacturing partners, Golden ABC is betting that the future of local retail will belong to brands that can turn shopping into an experience while keeping their roots firmly at home.
Golden ABC invests P1 billion in bigger stores
Previous article![AI demand pushes Philippine electronics exports higher]( "AI demand pushes Philippine electronics exports higher")
Next article![Peso, stocks brace for volatility as rate bets fade]( "Peso, stocks brace for volatility as rate bets fade")
Related Stories
