(Source: By Jon Carlos Rodriguez | ABS-CBNnews.com | June 22, 2015)
The Philippine capital is among the top target cities for expanding retail brands, a recent study by a real estate services firm showed.
The study released by real estate advisory services group CBRE, titled “How Global is the Business of Retail?,” said Manila had 24 new retailers in 2014.
This is the first time Manila—along with Doha, Toronto, and Stuttgart—made the list, which CBRE said is an indication that retailers are looking for new markets of opportunity.
The study showed that international retail brands looking to enter new markets increased by 14 percent last year, with six Asian countries on the list.
Tokyo is the top target city with 63 new entrants, followed by Singapore with 58, and Abu Dhabi with 55. Rounding out the top 10 list are Taipei with 49; Dubai and Hong Kong with 45; Moscow with 41; Paris with 40; Beijing with 34; and Doha with 30.
Manila ranked 13 in the list, behind Berlin and Toronto.
CBRE said retailers from the Americas and Asia Pacific are the main regions eyeing the Asia Pacific market.
“The Asia Pacific retail market is gaining more ground as a top spot for expansion of international brands. In the Philippines alone, the demand and interest from the local retail market and the affordable rates drive more investors into the country. When this trend continues, Asia Pacific can even compete with the bigger EMEA and American markets,” said CBRE chairman, founder and chief executive Rick Santos.
CBRE said the core elements of globalization, technology and demographic change continue to have a “dramatic impact” on the business of retail.
“The continued development and refurbishment of shopping centers and city center high streets creates the perfect environment for retailers looking to further export their brand proposition around the world,” the firm added.
The 2015 study, which is CBRE’s eighth edition, examined 50 countries and 164 cities across the world to provide a comprehensive view of the markets international brands have been targeting.
