Look what we found at a ‘secret’ sale!

A week ago, I thought I was going to war. Whenever Zara announces a sale, a battle-ready crowd of shopaholics surely comes to target the Spanish brand’s good buys, some tagged as low as 50 percent off. No ballistic hair-pulling during such a sale, but you have to be extra fast when it comes to seizing the items which a hundred other shoppers would kill for. It’s like going to war.

So when I heard that Zara and some 50 other brands of Stores Specialists Inc. were going to hold a sale at a “secret” place last weekend, I quickly wore my most comfy battle gear and rushed there. It wasn’t such a secret place — the Blue Leaf Events Pavilion at the breezy and beautiful McKinley Hills Village in Fort Bonifacio — and thank God, it wasn’t a riotous event.

That’s because it was a well-organized, exclusive Citibank Members Only sale for its Platinum and Gold cardholders, and Citigold Wealth Management Banking clients, spread out over a three-day weekend. The place was big and the SSI brands were assigned a neat stall each. An amazing selection of good finds was tagged as much as 70 percent off. And in case you ran out of energy, there were glasses of Starbucks frappuccino waiting to recharge you.

Shoppers surely appreciated that, given you would feel dizzy and excited going through the SSI brands that are tops in the world retailing business: Armani Exchange, Anne Klein, Bally, Bottega Veneta, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Cartier, Charriol, Debenhams, Denman, DKNY, Diesel, Dunhill, Ecco, Enzo Angioloni, Episode, Fruits & Passion, Furla, Gucci, Hugo Boss, Jack Niklaus, Jack Spade, Kate Spade, Kenneth Cole, Lacoste, Laundry, Liz Claiborne, Make Room, Marc Jacobs, Marks & Spencer, Max Factor, Mexx, Natori, Nine West, Polo Jeans, Polo Ralph Lauren, Prada, Rowenta, Salvatore Ferragamo, Springfield, Tefal, Tod’s, Gap and of course, Zara. Whew! SSI president Nedy Tantoco and her VP son Anton Huang have really brought the best of global luxury brands to the Philippines.

Aneth Lim of Citibank  said that aside from the generous discounts, all Citi clients had the option of availing zero percent installment on Citi Paylite for  three months, six months, nine months and 12 months. “That’s a pretty good deal,” she noted,” so if you wanted to get a Gucci bag on sale at P15,000, you pay only P1,250 monthly for the next 12 months. This exclusive sale is just one of the many ways we reward our customers for their discerning choice to be a Citibank cardholder or a Citigold Wealth Management Banking client, or both.

And look what we found! Zara dresses at  only P885. Kate Spade iPod cases at P1,032. Laundry blouses at P1,050. Jessica dresses at P3,237.50. DKNY shirts at P2,000. Hugo Boss shirts at P3,272. Armani Exchange denim pants at P4,462.50. Burberry items from P6,000 plus. Tod’s shoes at P9,000 plus. A cute brand called Oka offered such comfortable and pretty sandals at P746.20.

But my trophy for going to this “war” was a Josie Natori caftan with  prints of Japanese kimono-clad women. It was priced at Neiman Marcus (or was it Saks?) at about 250 US dollars when a dear friend, who is a Natori fanatic like me, bought it not too long ago.

Guess how much I got it during the Citibank sale — P5,625, or just over a hundred US dollars.

My dear friend will kill me.

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For more information on the joys and rewards of being a Citibank cardholder, call 995-9999.