By Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat
Japanese global apparel retailer, UNIQLO, opened its first roadside store in the country as it offers more shopping convenience to customers within a community.
Located in located at Westgate, Alabang, Muntinlupa City’s central business district, the roadside store is the second of its kind in Southeast Asia, the first being in Thailand. The Philippines is the fifth country with the roadside store. With the Uniqlo Westgate, there are now a total of 58 Uniqlo stores in the country.
Geraldine Sia, co-COO Uniqlo Philippines, explained that the roadside store is their first community-based store that they strategically opened south of Metro Manila.
“The roadside store is about immersing ourselves with the community. It is a new business model away from the mall because most of our stores are inside or within a small so this is part of a local community and we would be able to be close to them and customers need not travel far and it is very convenient,” said Sia.
Uniqlo Westgate Alabang has a shopping space of 1,518 square meters. The operating hours are from 10 am to 10 pm everyday starting today, August 16. Just like other Uniqlo stores, the roadside store carries a full range of Uniqlo LifeWear items for men, women, kids and babies.
The store location also includes a parking lot for Uniqlo customers, which is designed to ensure enough space and accessibility for needs, families with children, elderly people and people with disabilities. Uniqlo Westgate is situated along Alabang-Zapote road in Westgate Development Filinvest City.
In launching this new store, Masayoshi Nakamura, COO Uniqlo Philippines said “Uniqlo Philippines aims to boost the vitality of the local area by becoming a lifestyle and cultural hub and a driver of local economic development and property.”