Golden ABC to broaden global network

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino fashion retailer Golden ABC Inc, the company behind brands such as Penshoppe and Oxygen, will continue to uplift the Filipino brand in the international market as it intends to go big in Indonesia as well as other countries abroad in the coming years.

Edmun Liu, Golden ABC board member and younger brother of chief executive officer Bernie Liu, said the company is planning to expand its store count in Indonesia to about 150 stores in the next 10 years.

The company currently has 18 stores in Indonesia and is looking to finish the year with 20, Liu said.

“The goal is to have 150 stores in Indonesia alone. Cambodia is another story with another partner. We have other countries in the pipeline which we have to expand as well,” Liu said.

Liu said Golden ABC has around 11 stores in the Middle East and one store in Cambodia.

In the Middle East, the firm has presence in markets such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates.

Liu said the company is looking at adding 20 more stores across its market outside the country in the next 12 months.

Locally, he said the plan is to add over 20 new stores as well. For the Philippine expansion next year, the company is earmarking between P300 to P400 million.

“We intend to saturate these existing markets, add more to them, including the Philippines as well,” Liu said.

“We also have plans to add more countries in the pipeline. We hope to be able to add more and more member of the Asean countries as well. You have to come in with a very open mind knowing the cultural and market segments there. We’re optimistic and it all boils down to finding the right partner,” Liu said.

Golden ABC creates and sells ready-to-wear clothing under the Penshoppe, Oxygen, ForMe, Memo, Regatta and Tyler brands as well as direct selling subsidiary Red Logo. All brands are company owned.

With the six brands under its portfolio already making its way to markets abroad, Liu said the company is proud of remaining a purely-Filipino brand.

Although the company is not closing its doors to future business opportunities, Liu said Golden ABC is not keen at present on retailing and selling foreign brands

“Admittedly there have been many brands who approached us offering to sell their brands to us and we’re open to that but we always look at complementary brands, brands that will fit into our portfolio. It has to be very strategic and we always been passionate about building the Filipino brand. We are as good as the best in the world. It may take a longer time but we’ll get there,” Liu said.

“We had opportunities, we’ve had many offers because they see value in our capabilities, in our store network, our distribution and our supply chain but we’ve been very firm on that,” he added.