ABC-MART teases more mall branches after opening 2nd Philippine store

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December 13, 2025 | 3:03pm

MANILA, Philippines — Japanese street retail company ABC-MART is eyeing to open more branches in malls as it continues to expand its presence in the Philippines.

Two months ago the brand opened its fourth-ever Grand Stage store in Taguig's Bonifacio Global City, then last December 12 it opened a 2.0 store concept in Japanese shopping mall Mitsukoshi on the northern side of the township.

Both stores join more than 1,500 branches located in Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, allowing sneakerheads more access to quality streetwear items.

After the ribbon-cutting of the Mitsukoshi branch, ABC-MART Sonak Philippines Senior Director Rajan Sahkrani spoke with members of the media to discuss the Philippine market.

"As you can see from what we're building, we have a strong belief in the Philippines market and we want to be able to deliver the best stories possible as well," Rajan said, detailing the brand's aspirations. "The investment we're putting in shows the growth of the industry and the trajectory of the move it's going to go in."

Rajan told Philstar.com that the Grand Stage was opened near High Street instead of Mitsukoshi because the former had a larger available space.

He did point out that as a 2.0 store concept, the Mitsukoshi branch is an elevated modern version of the brand.

"We want to have some differentiation as well to show and really show the Philippines market about the values and culture of ABC Mart as a brand, as a group, as a whole," Rajan added.

The strategy will be the same going forward when they open future stores, which Rajan teased there were already target location and dates in mind but would save them for a future conversation.

RELATED: ABC-MART eyes more Philippine stores after opening Grand Stage in BGC

"We have a few in the pipeline. Once everything is signed, then we'll come out with... Actually, no. We want to have it built first and then we'll make our releases," Rajan told Philstar.com.

The executive explained they wanted to built hype in a slow yet controlled manner and as a new team had to do so tactically.

What Rajan did confirm was ABC-MART is focusing on opening branches in malls like Mitsukoshi because such locations are good for consumer traffic and can communicate the market better.

Speaking of the "very interesting" Philippine market, Rajan noted a comfort era was dominant in the country for the last few months, but now the brand is seeing very heavily a mix and match of shoes meant for running and lifestyle.

"We're also working very closely with the brands themselves to see what they're projecting," Rajan continued. "We want to make sure that we have the best products to put out to ABC as well."

Philstar.com also asked the executive if it had any plans of selling local streetwear brands in its Philippine stores.

"We're still very new. I wouldn't say never say never. But, as I said, I think we need a lot of time to build our brand, expand in the community and we'll see where we can get in the direction," Rajan replied, ending with the note they have to work closely with the Japanese headquarters.

Just a few of the brands currently found in either Philippine branch are Nike, Adidas, Puma, ASICS, Vans, New Balance, Saucony, Salomon and Crocs.

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