Eyeing so much growth potential in Cebu’s fashion industry, a local clothing brand called Karimadon has expanded its operation in the city and has recently opened two new outlets in two of the major malls in the city.
“Karimadon opened in Cebu because of the potential of the market. The city is booming and also Cebuanos are very fashionable consumers and we believe that our products can serve their needs and clothing requirements,” said Arlene S. Go, the Managing Partner of Cangear Company, the franchisee of Karimadon here in Cebu.
Go, together with her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law who are from Manila, operate Karimadon in Ayala Center Cebu and the recently opened store at the SM City Cebu’s Northwing.
Karimadon traces its beginnings in Greenhills, Manila in 1980. It is owned by a family and after more than 20 years of operation, it now has 16 outlets nationwide; 11 of which are company-owned while five are franchised.
The brand name “Karimadon” was coined from the combinations of the first names of the owners. The owners themselves are the ones who design each of their clothing item but these are manufactured in Hong Kong while the fabrics are sourced from Japan.
Karimadon offers a wide array of women’s apparel from dresses, formal and semi-formal wears, blouses, pants and accessories. Its products’ prices range from P599 to P2, 500 and cater to a mixed market segment from ages 14 to 60 years old.
“We invested on the brand since Karimadon already has a name in the retail and fashion industry having been in the business since the 80’s and we ourselves believe in the product because we have also been their avid customers for a long time,” Go explained about the reason they decided to franchise Karimadon.
Having presence in Cebu for barely months, Karimadon already received positive feedback from the Cebuano market. As Go shared, most of the shoppers that goes to their shop express great excitement that Karimadon is now in Cebu.
“A lot of our customers tell us how relieved they are that Karimadon is already in Cebu because now they can already buy the pieces they want that they can only buy when they visit Manila before,” said Go.
Karimadon is present in almost all malls in Metro Manila, it has a branch in SM Bacoor in Pampanga, SM Marilao in Bulacan and now in SM City and Ayala Center in Cebu, and it is also franchised in SM City Davao.
“There is undoubtedly many business opportunities in Cebu since there are many commercial and business investments that keeps on coming in, this is primarily one of the few reason why businessmen from Manila would want to come here,” discussed Go about the motivations of Manila-based entrepreneurs on moving into Cebu.
She further noted that, “the extension of Ayala and SM, also the city’s traffic and the robust night life here in Cebu are indicators that the Cebuano market is rapidly growing.”