Saturday, August 23, 2008 Store foresees bigger market due to growth in adventure tourism
WANTING to take advantage of Cebu’s booming tourism and business process outsourcing industries, a supplier of outdoor equipment opened its sixth outlet at the Northwing of SM City Cebu last Wednesday.
The North Face shop’s expansion to Cebu after it first opened in Shangri-La Plaza Mall in Mandaluyong City in 2004 was partly attributed to the development of adventure tourism in the province.
“We see Cebu as a large market with many surrounding outdoor explorations and many outdoor groups,” said Jundel Llagas, marketing manager of Uniglobe Travelwear Co.
Uniglobe is the exclusive distributor of The North Face products in the country.
The North Face considers itself as a supplier of “authentic, innovative, and technically-advanced” exploration apparel, footwear, equipment and accessories.
The shop, said Llagas, caters to a certain niche market that knows the value and importance of high-quality gear. It generally targets anyone with appreciation of the outdoors and aspiration to participate in extreme sports, as well as anyone with an active lifestyle.
“We want to share this passion for the outdoors with those employed in the business process outsourcing (BPO) companies who may be highly stressed out in their work,” Llagas said.
He expressed confidence that The North Face will be able to tap the BPO market in Cebu since it employs about 300,000 persons. With the projected growth of the BPO industry in Cebu in the next few years, North Face expects to increase its market share as well.
The North Face’s top-selling product is equipment, followed by bags and outerwear, like jackets. Prices for bags would range from P1,990 to P19,000 while jackets are sold between P5,000 to P10,000.
While the company admits that North Face products are “pricey,” Llagas and product associate Ken Co of Uniglobe explained that they sell the “attributes and benefits” of using the items, which target buyers—Koreans, Japanese, and the local A and B market-would consider as an investment.
“One factor also that is overlooked is that Filipinos travel and they buy products to make their journey more convenient,” said Co.
Without giving any figures, he said that The North Face stores in the country experienced a combined “double-digit” growth rate in the past five years, which indicates that it has not been affected by inflation.
If its shop at SM City Cebu goes well, Uniglobe will study the possibility of opening another store in Cebu.
Meanwhile, The North Face bared plans to open another outlet at the SM Megamall in Metro Manila, to add to its existing outlets at Power Plant Mall and Glorietta 4 Ayala Center in Makati City, SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, and SM City Davao. (NRC)
