an exciting new retail synergy in Manila.
A good power crowd—corporate executives, the expat community, celebrities, home design innovators—attended the launch of Crate & Barrel in Manila at the Mega Fashion Hall of SM Megamall.
They celebrated not only the opening of the iconic brand but also its partnership with the SM Retail Group.
Crate & Barrel USA head of international visual merchandising April Young flew in for the opening, with director of construction John Moebes and other members of the team.
SM retail director Felicidad Sy, SM Prime Holdings Inc. president Hans Sy, and SM retail chair Tessie Sy-Coson welcomed them, with SM EVP for controllership Ricky Lim, SM Retail VP for business development Pascale Jimenez and Crate & Barrel Philippines business unit head Jo Co Siy.
“We are happy to announce that the first Crate & Barrel store in Manila is now open at the SM Mega Fashion Hall,” says Crate & Barrel interim CEO Adrian Mitchell.
SM Prime Holdings Inc. president Hans Sy launched the first Crate & Barrel store in the Philippines at the 4th
Level of the SMMegamallMega Fashion Hall. Crate & Barrel Philippines business unit head Jo Co Siy (left) and SM
retail VP for business development Pascale Jimenez (right) joined them in the simple ceremony.
“In collaboration with our esteemed franchise partner, the SM Retail Group, we are bringing in the best of Crate & Barrel and creating an exciting new retail synergy in Manila,” he added.
Family business
Crate & Barrel was founded in 1962 as a family business 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 decided to open a home furnishings store, calling it Crate & Barrel, after the shipping crates and barrels which contained their inventory and which they used as their first store fixtures.
Working with European ateliers and factories whose products they import, Crate and Barrel was among the first retailers to make modern tabletop and kitchenware affordable to American consumers.
Today, Crate & Barrel is a global, multichannel family of brands, known for exclusive houseware and furniture designs, excellent value and superb customer service.
Napkin Ring and Kendari Placemat
Owned by the Otto Group of Hamburg, Germany, since 1998, the company operates stores in North America, international franchise locations in Dubai, Singapore and Mexico.
More Crate & Barrel stores are expected to open in Manila in 2015.
