JAPANESE lifestyle and fashion retailer Adastria Co. Ltd. is looking at expanding in the Phil-ippines by opening more 'niko and...' stores and enhancing its omnichannel retail pres-ence.The Department of Trade and Industry announced the expansion last week after Adastria launched its flagship 'niko and...' store in Pasay City earlier this month.The company's flagship brand is known for its unique blend of functionality and creativity, offering lifestyle and fashion products.Adastria was said to have recognized the significance of the Philippine market, with its young demographic, growing fashion consciousness and increasing disposable income in achieving its goal of expanding in Southeast Asia.Trade Secretary Ma. Cristina Roque said that Adastria's entry into the Philippine market would strengthen Philippine-Japanese partnerships in the lifestyle and retail sectors.'It stands as a prime example of how collaborative efforts between government initiatives and private sector dynamism can lead to mutually beneficial outcomes — fostering eco-nomic growth, enhancing consumer options, and driving innovation across industries,' she added.The retailer's entry was said to have been facilitated by the amended Retail Trade Liberaliza-tion Act (RTLA), which reduced capital and investment requirements for foreign retailers.Dita Angara-Mathay, commercial counselor at the Trade Department, said that 'by reducing the minimum paid-up capital requirements for foreign retailers, eliminating the need for a pre-qualification certificate from the Philippine Board of Investments and lowering invest-ment requirements for individual stores, the revised RTLA has significantly enhanced the Philippines' attractiveness to foreign retail investors.'Adastria, which has 45 brands and a network of 1,282 domestic and 127 international stores, partnered with the Philippines' Primer Group of Companies in a joint venture with an initial capitalization of P160 million.Meanwhile, Roque said that another Japanese home furnishing giant Nitori was eyeing to expand its footprint in the country after opening its first Philippine store in April.'The wholesale and retail trade sector are the backbone of our economy. In 2023, it contrib-uted P4.4 trillion to our gross domestic product and employed over 10.3 million Filipinos,' she said.
