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PHILIPPINES. In major breaking news, Landmark Management Services, the country’s leading force in travel retail fashion, has entered into a 50/50 joint venture for duty free/travel retail fashion operations with SSI Group* – the number one local market fashion and luxury retailer in the Philippines.
Under the deal SSI has taken a 50% stake in Landmark, owned by the most well-known figure in the Philippines travel retail industry – the charismatic Jose Maria ‘Chim’ N. Esteban III. As reported, the deal excludes the duty free and travel retail beauty business run by Esteban.
Landmark Management Services operates the duty free and travel retail fashion business at the country’s leading airports and at the downtown Fiesta Mall on a sub-concession from Duty Free Philippines on a supply and management basis.
SSI, through wholly owned subsidiary SKL International, acquired the 50% stake from Landmark’s two shareholders, Regent Asia Group and Prime Ltd (Duty Free Distributors). Price details were not disclosed other than the fact that it represented less than 5% of SSI’s book value.
Esteban was the first General Manager of Duty Free Philippines (DFP), driving it from a start-up with sales of less than US$10 million in its first year to a US$219 million turnover when he left in 1992. In 1998 he became a sub-concessionaire to DFP through his company Fashion Walk – later adding perfumes & cosmetics to the retail portfolio (excluded, as mentioned, from this week’s deal).
The joint venture, signed on Tuesday and announced to the Philippines Stock Exchange today, brings together the country’s most powerful players in travel retail and local market fashion and luxury and will help accelerate the growth of these categories, Esteban told The Moodie Report in an exclusive interview.
“We’ll be working closely in expanding the fashion categories in Philippines duty free,” Esteban said. “With the combination of their strength and the brands’ support we can grow a much better duty free business. It’s exciting times.
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Chim Esteban, pictured above after receiving an Outstanding Contribution to the Travel Retail Industry award from The Moodie Report in 2012, has been one of the great pioneers of duty free retailing in the Philippines and Asia Pacific |
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“Nothing changes except that we have a new partner in the concession company and we’re strengthening it by bringing in their expertise and their brand relationships. We feel we will have a much better product as a result very quickly.
“Hopefully with our partnership we can now open the door to a lot more fashion and luxury brands to expand duty free in the Philippines.”
“We are very happy to be part of the development of the travel retail industry,” said SSI President Anthony T. Huang. “We believe that, with SSI’s retailing experience and Landmark’s deep understanding of the unique shopping requirements of travellers, we can expand our market to cover tourists and business travellers.”
The Moodie Report will bring you a special in-depth study of the new venture in a forthcoming issue of our Print Edition.
*ABOUT SSI GROUP
SSI Group is the leading specialty retailer in the Philippines with an extensive portfolio of established international brands. Part of the powerful Rustan’s Group (founded by the Tantoco family, one of the pioneers of duty free retailing in the Philippines) it leads the specialist retail market in terms of the size and breadth of its international brand portfolio and store footprint.
As of September 2014, its retail network consisted of 672 specialty stores covering over 115,000sq m of retail space.
It recently expanded its retail format offerings with its entry into convenience stores under the FamilyMart franchise, and department stores under the Wellworth brand.
