Love, Bonito mulls opening first Philippine store
MANILA, Philippines — “Next year. Stay tuned!”
Such was how Dione Song, the young Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of rising Asian clothing label Love, Bonito teased when asked if they have plans to open a brick-and-mortar shop in the Philippines, given their brand’s success in the country.
“(We’re) very busy looking for the right location and hopefully we can open one very soon,” Song told Philstar.com on the sidelines of the opening of the brand’s new roving pop-up store, which has been making rounds in different malls from Friday to Sunday this month, culminating in Uptown Mall, Bonifacio Global City on May 26 to 28, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
According to Song, the Philippines has been an “amazing” market for their brand since they started shipping here in 2019 and it has remained as among the label’s top-performing markets outside the brand’s home country, Singapore.
“We’ve seen an amazing traction and growth over the last many years. The community size I think has grown four times over the years since we’ve started doing more community events,” said Song. “I think reception in the Philippines so far has been amazing.”
Reeling in the success of last year’s roving pop-up store, the brand repeated the feat and is hoping to return later this year and engage in more collaborations.
Story behind the name
“Who is Bonito? Nobody,” Song revealed with a giggle when asked about the origin behind the brand’s name.
“The name first started back in the day. We were actually called ‘BonitoChico’ but ‘Bonita Chica’ is the correct (term) because it means ‘beautiful girl’.”
According to her, the brand started from a Live Journal blog, BonitoChico in 2005, and so when they were trying to buy an official web domain name for it, they found out “BonitoChico” was already taken.
“Someone was already squatting on the website and demanded $20,000. Back in the day, we can’t afford it, it was so much money. So we came up with Love, Bonito as a sign of ‘with love from the team, for you’,” explained Song, who has been with the brand for six years, having jump-shipped from working with global beauty brands in e-commerce.
“The reason why I worked with Love, Bonito because I thought, why aren’t there many successful brands coming out of Asia then expand globally? Because one, I don’t believe we don’t have the right talent in Asia. And I think, two, suppliers are pretty much in Asia, so there’s no reason for us not to be successful… I saw a potential to grow a brand even beyond Asia.”
From Asia, the brand also ships to Australia and is now also expanding into the United States, with a pop-store to open there in mid-June.
“I think, first of all, it’s the passion and the purpose. When we first started Love Bonito… We saw that there are a lot of global brands,” Song said of what could be the secret to the brand’s longevity.
“But as Asian women, we thought that nothing really fit us that well. So, can we provide something that’s really thoughtful for the Asian woman by the Asian woman as well? Can we provide also quality but ensure that it’s still accessible? Can we provide thoughtful functionality while looking amazing as well? That’s why we added pockets, padded tops and so on. I think that’s what makes us successful – because we’re thoughtful and we think about everything – very Asian-centric as well and very female-centric in our designs.”
The brand, according to her, resonates well among its core audience of women in their late 20s to 40s, especially to those usually looking for their first work outfit or for power apparel for their first job interview.
“Women, I think, always look for something that fits you well, that flatters you, when it comes to the silhouettes, cuts, colors,” she said, adding that their brand also provides styling services, among others.
Thus, from being officially Love, Bonito in 2010, the brand has since expanded from women’s clothing to shoes, kids’ apparel and accessories like earrings and jewelry bag, which are available in the brand’s website and community site.
Song shared that their company also recently acquired an active wear brand in Singapore, as well as a minor investment in a female health supplement venture. These are also expected to be available in their e-commerce channels soon.
Sustainability through thoughtful design
“We are very omnichannel. Half of our business is online, half is offline,” said Song.
Their in-house design team, she noted, is composed of a diverse team in Singapore – with suppliers in China and India, of which plans are in place to work with other factories in this region, too.
“When it comes to sustainable fashion, what brands do maybe are an eco-friendly collection. I think when you think about sustainability, a lot of wastage issues actually come from overproduction, where people over-produce or when you create clothing with no mileage, meaning, the customer just wears it once and then… they throw it or give it away,” Song mused.
“We’ve been streamlining the process. We make sure we don’t overproduce. So you see in our website, some things go out of stock, because we want to produce in smaller quantities, ensure that is okay in sales, and we want to get audience feedback, customer feedback on Instagram, get the polls in, and that’s when we restock. We don’t want customer wastage.”
Thoughtful design, their brand DNA, gives their products good mileage, enabling customers to mix and match the pieces, use the items from day-to-night, and maximize and extend the cost per wear, said Song.
After forming their own sustainability team last year, they are now eyeing to learn more about eco textiles and work on more supplier partnerships, more sustainable packaging and better green compliance in the supply chain.
“Hopefully, we inspire confidence and help you to that process,” Song said.
