AMONG the global brands whose entry around these parts Filipinos have been eagerly anticipating, Crate and Barrel and all of its exquisite collectibles for the home is now available to add lots of style to homes and offices around these parts.
SM Retail, the leading retail group in the Philippines, announced recently that it has agreed to a basic framework for establishing a franchise with the American home furnishings retailer through SM Retail subsidiary HMS Development Corp.
Based on the agreement, the new franchise company will be established in the Philippines in 2014, with the first Crate and Barrel store in Manila to open at the Mega Fashion Hall on November 20. More stores will follow shortly in the first quarter of 2015.
Crate and Barrel opened its doors in 1962 as a family business started by Gordon and Carole Segal in Chicago, Illinois. The couple was inspired by the simple, well-designed, affordable products they had purchased on their honeymoon in Europe. The Segals then decided to open a home furnishings store, calling it Crate and Barrel after the shipping crates and barrels which brought their inventory and became the fixtures of their first store.
Working directly with European ateliers and factories to import their products, Crate and Barrel was among the first retailers to make modern tabletop and kitchenware affordable to American consumers.
Today Crate and Barrel is an international, multichannel family of brands, known for exclusive houseware and furniture designs, excellent value and superb customer service. Owned by the Otto Group of Hamburg, Germany, since 1998, the company operates stores in most major North American markets, as well as international franchise locations in Dubai, Singapore and Mexico.
Meanwhile, SM Retail has over 50 years of experience in the industry. Its retail operations include a chain of department stores, supermarkets, and hypermarkets strategically located in key cities in the Philippines.
It also has a chain of specialty store formats that serve niche markets focusing on a wide selection of merchandise for each category, like appliance stores, home stores and toy superstores.
Beginning with a franchise with ACE Hardware and a joint venture with Watsons, SM’s retail group has also entered into partnerships with global retailers, and these include Forever 21, Uniqlo, Suiteblanco and Uno de 50.
Now, clear your homes and offices of furniture and accessories that have seen better days. A piece of heaven on earth is just about to open its doors.