FIRST LOOK: Love, Bonito opens first PH store in Greenbelt 3
After years of waiting, Filipino fashionistas can finally shop the beloved Singaporean brand Love, Bonito in-store.
Co-founder Rachel Lim acknowledged the wait at the Greenbelt 3 opening on Friday, saying "It's been a long time coming."
Speaking to the media, Rachel said that the goal of having a physical store is to have an "in-person relationship" with their customers.
"Online data can tell you what's selling, what's not selling, but it's only when you go down to interact and observe the customers and talk to them that we realize the different insights as to why this is working and why this is not working, and this is additional insight," she said, adding that doing so helps improve their products and experiences for their customers.
"So, we realized early on that, you know, we needed to have a physical presence as much as possible, even if it begins from pop-up stores like we did in Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines as well, to be able to establish and also be able to allow customers to experience the brand physically, not just online," Rachel added.
On the Filipino market
"I think in the Philippines, maybe what is uniquely different, perhaps apart from what people buy, is really how people consume. Media as well. I think what we see that's quite different, or rather maybe very vibrant, is social media is, of course, exploding here and so important. And that was why, actually, we knew that, 'Hey, there's so much demand in the Philippines,'" Rachel said.
Rachel, who is also a podcaster, said when they first started shipping internationally, they began seeing a lot of traction and online mentions from their fans in the Philippines, which is one of the reasons why they decided to put up a physical store in Manila.
"I think we see that the online community is really very vibrant, and I think that's quite different. So it gave us a lot of signals that we knew, 'Oh, okay, I think there is something here. I think there is demand. Let's do something,'" she added about the Philippines.
Talking more about the Filipino community, Rachel said Filipinos are more into colors.
"They're a lot more willing to try brighter and they're always requesting for pop colors, and also they love to dress up, right? Nothing's gonna stop you guys," she observed.
"So we love it, because then, you know, it's exciting. For us when we design and we create, we also have you in mind to ensure that, 'Okay, a tube top or pants also must perhaps come with some colors to excite the Filipino community.'"
What makes the Love, Bonito store different
Known for their "thoughtfully-designed styles" catering to Asian women since their online launch in 2010, Love, Bonito sought to translate that same design philosophy into their physical stores.
"When we first opened offline, we were really clear, 'Let's not do a typical brick-on-mortar store,' because it gets boring, right? So transactional. You go in, you see a cashier, you see products, that's it," CEO Dione Song said. "We believe that a store should be an experience. It should be unique to the customer, which is why we take a lot of different thoughtfulness and elements right into our store design and experiences."
Dione also highlighted the convenience for their customers. In some of their stores overseas, they've made the spaces between racks bigger for mothers with trolleys, sitting zones for partners who are waiting for their better halves to shop, and in the Philippines, fitting rooms with queue systems.
"If it's crowded, you can go in, right, take a queue number. We'll let you know and buzz you when the room is ready. So you can go out, grab a cup of coffee right in the mall, and then come back in again," she added.
Down the line, Dione and Rachel hinted at plans to integrate an omnichannel experience into the store.
"Customers can drop off, for example, their online orders right in the store," Dione said. "We want to make it very easy."
Singaporean elements
In March, Love, Bonito underwent a brand refresh that celebrates their Singaporean heritage. The new look features pops of red, orchid motifs, and a redesigned logo, which is seen across all stores.
"That red accent that we believe... means something in the Asian community and construct and a context," Dione said. "I think we want it to represent also the boldness of the modern Asian woman."
The orchids, she said, pay homage to their roots and how they started.
Overall, Love, Bonito prioritizes a welcoming atmosphere for guests to browse their collections.
"I think the coziness when you walk in, you want to feel like, 'Oh, this brand understands me.' Whether it is [the] decor, the warmth of the service staff, and the entire experience." said Rachel.
"We also truly believe that you know, especially in a day and age where people can shop and purchase anything, anytime on their mobile phones, we need to give them a good enough reason to come to the store to experience the brand. So the service experience and of course, like I said, we will also make use of this opportunity to hold more in-person events of different kinds to continue to foster that connection with our community and build that longer-term relationship," she added.
