Japanese favorite Uniqlo just opened its second store in the Philippines at The Block at SM North Edsa and it was enthusiastically welcomed by Pinoy shoppers (You should go too. They have special opening discounts—jeans are just P590, fleece jackets are just P790). Australian brand Cotton On has also arrived. There are stores in Bonifacio High Street, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia, Lucky China Town Mall and SM North Edsa and we’re psyched—we love their super-comfy dresses.
The Philippines is becoming an even bigger retail paradise with each new launch. We love how the great mix of local offerings and imported brands give people a wide variety of choices.
Here are a few other brands and stores we’d love to see hit our shores. This is our import wish list.
Sephora
Every beauty junkie has been fervently waiting for this brand to set up shop here. Of course, the brands that this umbrella beauty store houses have to agree to come here, too, but the idea of an actual Sephora here is enough to make our wallets quiver in fear.
Carl’s Jr.
One of our must-visits in Singapore, this burger joint has had its starts and stops here in Manila, but we hope the third time’s the charm.
Famous Amos
We’re a rare breed, but we prefer crunchy cookies over gooey, chewy ones, and Famous Amos hits the crunchy cookie spot famously. You’ll be hard pressed not to leave the cookie stand without a bag of crunchy nibblers once you pass by one of their many stalls in Singapore. Cookie gods, please level the playing field in Manila and bring the crunch back.
City’super
This wasteland of cute stuff and Asian beauty products needs to have a home in Manila so we don’t have to have overweight luggage from Hong Kong on account of colored pens, cutesy stationery, stickers, toy cameras, and cute laptop sleeves.
Laduree
We’ve already got our Parisian-inspired pastel outfit ready for the future (we hope) opening of this popular macaron café.
Cath Kidston
We can’t get enough of Cath Kidston’s pretty vintage and floral prints and we’re sure a lot of girls will agree with us.
H&M
Admit it, you love H&M as much as we do. H&M is always on our list of stores to visit during trips abroad. We’d love to see this Swedish clothing company in the Philippines. And we hope that whoever brings it in will bring in the brand’s killer (and affordable) accessories line too.
Urban Outfitters
Whether it’s a great vintage-looking tee, an attention-grabbing backpack, an odd gift for a good friend, or a book that’s bursting with strangeness and attitude, Urban Outfitters never fails to offer surprises with each visit. We wish we had one we can walk into any day of the week.
Anthropologie
Anthropologie’s stores and merchandise are so pretty they make us want to cry. It’s a one-stop shop for making your home and your wardrobe prettier. Who wouldn’t want that?
Old Navy
We love Old Navy for offering affordable comfy basics and their crazy sales. We’ve bagged great shirts for a dollar each. Someone make that happen here, please.
Hot Topic
Everyone needs a little punk action sometimes. And those of us who need our dose of crazy colorful hair dye, glow-in-the-dark nail polish, jewelry for our multiple piercings, studded boots, band tees, and Harry Potter merchandise need our own branch of Hot Topic.
Illamasqua
This United Kingdom-based cosmetics convention-breaking brand has a huge cult following all over the world. But we really wish we didn’t have to place orders online just to get our hands on their new collections. It would be lovely to walk into a store and check out the new colors and play with the pigments. With the continuously growing number of beauty fanatics in the country, we’re beyond ready for Illamasqua.
Ikea
Yes, we know, there are Ikea resellers in the country and we’re grateful. But we need a real Ikea store with a real Ikea restaurant where we can eat our ribs, fries and Swedish meatballs. And we’d like to be able to grab those big bags of meatballs and take them home. Plus, Ikea is a great place for dates (see: “500 Days of Summer”).
