“Even if we’re based in Manila now, work is there, my wife is there, the kids are there — Cebu is still home,” said Bryan Liu, vice president for Strategy and Operations at Golden ABC Inc. (GABC), the company behind Filipino fashion brand PENSHOPPE.
“Every time we go home, it’s tradition. At least once, we eat at Sunburst or Dimsum Break. These things help us stay grounded to where we’re from,” he shared during a press conference held at Radisson Blu Cebu on Aug. 3, 2025, during the two-day “Full Speed Ahead” campaign launch at SM City Cebu.
That sense of grounding has shaped how the third generation of the Liu family continues to lead the business, four decades since it first opened in Cebu.
GABC, founded in Cebu in 1986, has since grown into a multi-brand fashion powerhouse with a presence across Asia. It manages Regatta, Memo, OXGN, ForMe and BOCU. But PENSHOPPE remains its flagship, its first, most iconic brand.
“From day one, our values have always been rooted in being close to the customer,” Bryan said. “We’re not an ivory tower. We don’t believe in just making decisions by ourselves and forgetting what it means for the members at the stores.”
Bryan joined the company in 2014, just as social media was transforming the marketing landscape. “I was fresh out of university, and my first role was in social media marketing,” he recalled. “I grew into the job as e-commerce started to boom. I helped build our digital and e-commerce teams before I got my current position.”
Today, as GABC prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2026, the company continues to evolve with the times, while keeping its Cebuano roots intact.
Meaningful moments
When the pandemic forced shoppers online, GABC saw a sharp rise in online shopping. But Bryan and his team never saw it as a death knell for physical stores.
“We really asked ourselves, is this the end of malls?” he said. “But when we look at our market and our culture, it’s hard to believe that malling will ever go away. Filipinos are social. We like to go out. Add the heat or the rain, and you need a roof over your head. So we believe in both — online and offline. It’s not about choosing one over the other”
That hybrid approach reflects a broader business philosophy that prioritizes the customer experience, wherever they choose to shop. “One of the most basic questions we ask during product development is: ‘Will our customers actually wear this?’” Bryan said. “If the answer is no, we don’t move forward.”
Keeping it Cebuano
Despite its international expansion, GABC has never lost sight of where it began.
“Being from Cebu has shaped how we lead,” Bryan said. “We finished high school here before going abroad for university, and we know what it’s like when people in Manila say, ‘Cebu? That’s the province.’ That underdog mentality drives us. We carry that same mentality when we’re looking at a global setting. We want to prove that a Filipino brand can compete with global names.”
Every Feb. 6, GABC celebrates Founder’s Day to honor the legacy of its matriarch who is from Cebu. “It’s a company-wide tradition that reminds us where we came from,” Bryan shared. “In our PR materials, the first line is always, ‘Golden ABC, a company founded in Cebu.’ We’re not ashamed of it.”
Fashion in motion
The brand, in particular, has thrived by staying in tune with what resonates with Filipino youth. Under the direction of Bryan’s brother, Brandon Liu, the brand has embraced campaigns rooted in storytelling and community.
“It’s no longer enough to just have a big name endorsing your brand,” said Brandon. “Today’s customers want authenticity. If you’ve seen our recent campaigns, we’ve focused more on telling better stories.”
A case in point is “Full Speed Ahead,” the domestic apparel’s boldest campaign yet, which launched at SM Cebu on Aug. 3. More than just a fashion drop, the event is a high-octane celebration of the brand’s homegrown legacy, trend-forward pieces, and growing nationwide community. The campaign is rooted in the call to “accelerate toward your dreams.” It reinforces the idea that fashion is about the mindset you carry forward.
“When you bring in global trends, they don’t always translate,” Brandon said. “One time, a long-cut shirt was trending and if we don’t translate it to our Filipino market, it ends up looking like a house dress. So we make sure our products are wearable, designed for the Filipino body, the Filipino climate.”
The all-Filipino design team plays a crucial role in this effort. “We have such a talented team,” Brandon said. “They inspire me every day just by looking at the way they work.”
At the core of “Full Speed Ahead” are Club PENSHOPPE’s lead endorsers, James Reid and Brent Manalo, whose personal style and authenticity align with the campaign’s call for inclusivity and community. Both stars have headlined the Aug. 3 Cebu launch, engaging fans, leading interactive experiences and performing live.
Homegrown icons
The homegrown clothing brand has also shifted toward strengthening its roster of local endorsers.
“We’re not saying we’ll never work with international celebrities again,” Brandon clarified. “But right now, community is at the heart of our brand, and local endorsers help us build that connection.”
Global names like Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid have left a lasting impression on the team.
“They were super professional,” Bryan recalled. “They showed up early to the shoot, drove themselves, no entourage — just super professional.”
But local stars bring their own kind of resonance. “We’ve had international faces whose posters we placed nationwide, but some people in the provinces didn’t recognize them,” Brandon said. “That’s where local talents really bring — they’re relatable.”
With over 1,000 stores across their portfolio, GABC remains committed to its three-part model: brand, product, retail, in that order.
“We always begin by asking, ‘Who are we as a brand? What do we stand for?’” Bryan said. “Then we build the product, and finally we bring it to stores.”
And as Cebuano leaders, the brothers offer this message to the next generation: “Don’t let being from Cebu discourage you,” Bryan said. “Use it to push you. Don’t treat it as a disadvantage but as a motivation. That mindset of ‘we won’t be defeated,’ that’s something we carry with us, and I hope young Cebuanos do too.”