Marks & Spencer opens flagship store in style
MANILA, Philippines – Marks & Spencer (M&S), a brand that takes pride of its classic pieces and elegant wears, opened its flagship store in the Philippines at Central Square on July 18.
Aside from the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, M&S collaborated with the SoFa Design Institute and hosted a style-off competition.
Catwalk Contest
What better way to celebrate its opening than to fuel a competition of style and creativity among the enthusiastic and talented student stylists?
From 40, eight student stylists from the Sofa Design Institute were selected from the initial screening. The participants were tasked to create key looks from the M&S collection based around three sartorial themes: stylish work wear, laidback casual weekend, and stylish nightout. The ensembles were worn by the models that graced the catwalk at the Central Square Atrium.
Renowned judges from the fashion industry, models Tweetie De Leon-Gonzales and Apples Aberin, together with famous designers Randy Ortiz and Hindy Weber Tantoco evaluated the Marks and Spencer outfits based on the theme relevance, runway impact, and creativity and execution.
Hazel Roldan, claiming to be the youngest in the competition said that her ensembles were all couture, elegant, and creative. “I want to inspire other people by encouraging them to have a different outlook of how fashion should be,” she said.
In the end, Bengt Enrique, a 23-year-old Fashion Design Marketing student emerged as the winner, which entitled him to a P50,000 cash prize and M&S gift vouchers, while the runners up Hazel Roldan and Florian Trinidad received P10,000 worth of M&S gift vouchers each.
M&S models wearing Bengt Enriquez's design, Bengt Enriquez (winner), and Lucille Tolentino, M&S Merchandising Division Manager (L-R). AJ BOLANDO
Ribbon Cutting
The competition was followed by the ceremonial ribbon-cutting and toasts, which was lead by M&S International’s Head of Visual Merchandising Lee-Oliver Morely, British Ambassador, His Excellency Ambassador Asif Ahmad, and M&S Philippines’ General Manager Steven Samenta.
M&S International’s Head of Visual Merchandising Lee-Oliver Morely, British Ambassador, His Excellency Ambassador Asif Ahmad, and M&S Philippines’ General Manager Steven Samenta (L-R). AJ BOLANDO
The new store boasts of its own distinct look and identity, which allows the customers to see which brand best meets their personal style preferences.
Marks & Spencer Cafe
Aside from the latest store designs, M&S will also be housing the first ever standalone Food store in the Philippines, located opposite the men's wear floor. In addition to a wide range of food lines, the 16-seater cafe will also offer a variety of hot and cold coffee and will serve freshly baked pastries and cookies that go along well with premium blended drinks.
The additional features of the store go along with the aim of the latest branch of M&S, which is to improve the customer journey through improved navigation, a better store layout, and a more inspiring in-store customer experience.
M&S Central Square is located on the Upper Ground Floor and Second Floor of Central Square, 5th Avenue corner 30th Street, Bonifacio High Street Centrial in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. Store hours are from Sunday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
