A new British store to rave about

When I was growing up there was only one British label to think about, and that was the Marks & Spencer tag on my knickers – I mean, panties.

Luckily, for the Philippine market, there’s more variety with the addition of Top Shop and Top Man, Dorothy Perkins and Paul Smith.

Now comes Debenhams, one of the most respected retailers in the UK, which unveiled a brand-new store at Shangri-La Plaza last month.

The opening was kicked off with cocktails catered by Cibo and a fashion show featuring men’s, ladies’, boys’ and children’s wear.

Francis McAuley, Debenhams international director, was in town to attend the event and open the 1,500-sq.m. store.

Dressed in head-to-toe Debenhams, McAuley said he was quite pleased with the sales since opening their doors last November.

"The Philippines is the perfect location for our latest international store because Filipinos are a huge market with fashionable taste. They can easily adapt to the ranges," said McAuley.

The Shangri-La store is the latest addition to 120 Debenhams stores in the UK and Ireland and 23 around the globe.

McCauley is especially excited to have teamed up with Stores Specialists, Inc. (SSI), which owns a number of important brands in the Philippines. "They are absolutely fantastic. They are experts and know what sells in the market," said McAuley.

"Partnership is a key point to success. They are highly experienced in retail and their work ethic is second to none. We were able to open in a quick period of time. The setup, building of the store and training of the staff took a total of 16 weeks. Their speed is phenomenal and their work ethic is second to none."

Though SSI is very much associated with Marks & Spencer in the Philippines, McAuley says the two British retailers are quite different.

Debehams is primarily a fashion department store and does not carry food items. They have a line of home wares, and limited bed and bath in the Philippines because of the size of the store.

It boasts house labels such as: J by Jasper Conran, Rocha by John Rocha, Butterfly by Matthew Williamson, Star by Julien Macdonald, Antoni + Alison, Black by Betty Jackson, and Duffer by St. George.

"All these brands are exclusive to Debenhams. These are commercial high-street ranges, meaning we follow trends from the catwalk and translate them into more commercial use. They have very high design content and lots of detailing," he explained.

Adapting to the local economy, McAuley says the partnership with SSI has allowed them to make prices profitable yet appealing to the customer."You get extremely good value, and in many cases pay below UK retail prices. Plus, you can be assured of exciting new merchandise as stock is shipped from the UK on a weekly basis."