NBA Store treks north of the metro

• Source:http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?title=nba-store-treksnorth-of-the-metro&id=124981
• Sunday, March 27, 2016

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo (Reporter)

INDICATIVE of how well the venture has been received in such short a time, the NBA Store Philippines officially opened its third shop up north of the metropolis at the TriNoma Mall in Quezon City.

Located at the North Avenue wing of the mall, NBA Store TriNoma, like the first two at Glorietta 3 in Makati City and Mega Fashion Hall in Mandaluyong City, offers a comprehensive selection of authentic NBA products from all 30 NBA teams, including official jerseys, footwear, performance gear, lifestyle apparel, basketballs, toys and collectibles.

Autographed NBA memorabilia and a personalized jersey service are also on offer in the latest store.

“Here in the Philippines the following of the NBA and demand for its products have been huge. And the strategy for the NBA Store is to go where the fans are and now we are here,” said Carlo Singson, NBA Philippines Managing Director, during the NBA Store TriNoma’s official opening on March 14.

“When we opened our flagship store in Glorietta in 2014 it was really our first retail foray in the Philippines and it proved to be successful. And then we opened another one in Megamall and that’s done really well. And now we have moved north and targeting a market -- northern Quezon City -- which we think has not been served yet,” the NBA official said in an interview with reporters.

BASKETBALL CRAZY For the International Athletic Trading Company (IATC), the firm that manages NBA Store Philippines, the stores have had tremendous success because of the fact that the country is “basketball crazy.”

“Being a basketball-crazy country, the NBA is really fit here in the Philippines, and so is the NBA Store, which is why a third store is up,” said IATC President and Chief Executive Officer Melvin Lloyd Lim in a separate interview.

To complement their thrust of being in synch with Philippine buyers, IATC, Mr. Lim said, makes it a point to give them what they need and has partnered with the top sports and lifestyle brands.

The NBA Store carries products from brands such as 2K Sports, adidas, Mitchell & Ness, New Era, Nike, Panini, Spalding, Stance and Under Armour as well as NBA-branded lifestyle apparel exclusive to the store.

STRATEGIC Mr. Lim further said that the choice of TriNoma as a store location was strategic, seeing how much foot traffic the mall attracts.

“This area is packed with people. I’m very positive of this store doing well, too. TriNoma is one of the very successful Ayala malls in the country, so it’s a match for us,” Mr. Lim said.

With the success the NBA Store Philippines is experiencing, both Messrs. Lim and Singson said bigger plans are still in store for the venture even as they highlighted the good business relationship their groups have.

“It’s like really a joint venture that no decision is made unless both parties have signed off. We work together very closely with IATC. They know retail here in the Philippines but we are the NBA and we manage and control the brand. We take learnings from other markets and share those with IATC to help guide them in planning,” Mr. Singson said.

While he refused to divulge detailed plans, Mr. Lim said opening more stores is a priority for them, particularly in the Alabang area as well as in big cities in the south of the country like Cebu and Davao.

“Bigger opportunities for the NBA Store are still there and we would like to explore them,” the IATC boss said.

The NBA Store at TriNoma is open from 10 a.m.-9 p.m. (Monday-Thursday) and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. (Friday-Saturday).