Prince chain changes image, eyes outlets outside Cebu
Major retail chain Prince Warehouse Club Inc. is undergoing major rebranding and aggressiveexpansion outside Cebu.
The Cebu-based company will open its first department store outlet today, The Prince City Hall Department Store on M.C. Briones Street across Cebu City Hall.
This signals the shift from the warehouse concept stores to department store designs, said Rhea Janice S. Go, chief operations officer of Prince Warehouse Club Inc.
Go said the word “warehouse” will be removed from store signs as part of their expansion.
“Our branches like Prince Warehouse Danao will now become Prince Danao. The same with Minglanilla and other branches managed by my uncle (Robert Go, founding president) in Bogo City, Toledo City, Mandaue City and Pardo in Cebu City,” Go said.
“Four stores are under our management and my uncle also has four. The Prince City Hall Department Store and Supermarket is our fifth,” she said.
Article continues after this advertisementThe only outlet that will carry the word “warehouse will be its first outlet at the North Reclamation Area in Cebu City.
Article continues after this advertisementGo said the firm was also investing P10 million for the renovation of each store to complement rebranding efforts.
“We will not only be changing the names of the stores but also upgrade the facade. We’ll be repainting to make the store look well illuminated with lots of lights,”she said.
The company is also expanding to Maasin, Leyte province where it plans to open its sixth store there, that would be the tenth for the Prince chain.
“We’ll end the year with seven outlets under our management and we hope to open three to four more next year,” Go said.
Go said the changes were needed because the retail landscape in Cebu has become very competitive.
“We see a lot of the major players from Manila coming to Cebu so we should also now look at the market outside of Cebu. Our first outlet opened in November last year in Baybay City, Leyte and is already doing well. We think there is a huge market to tap in the neighboring provinces in Visayas,” Go said.
