ONE of the most popular American brands has finally set up shop on Guam, contributing to the economy and the tourism industry with its locally hired employees and brand appeal to tourists and residents.
The Gap store opened its doors to shoppers yesterday afternoon at The Plaza in Tumon. Brought in by Philippine-based Global Specialty Retailers Inc. (GSRI) – a subsidiary of Stores Specialists Inc. – the large store houses Gap, GapKids and babyGap.
Anthony T. Huang, president of GSRI, was present during yesterday's tour and welcomed the store's first customers.
“I think Gap is the quintessential American iconic brand; and [with] Guam being a territory of the U.S., it makes absolute sense to open up here,” Huang said during an interview. “Gap today is still one of the largest casual clothing brands in the world, and as they expand in this part of the world – the Asia-Pacific region as a whole – Guam was an obvious target to open up.”
In addition to the Gap stores, GSRI also opened up “Aerosoles” and “Beauty Bar” at The Plaza.
“Aerosoles is a leading comfort shoe brand out of the United States,” Huang said. “We do very well with the brand and we felt that it would be very good to open it on Guam.”
The shoe store, which caters to women, specializes in combining comfort with fashion. Meanwhile, Beauty Bar offers an array of high-quality skincare and makeup brands from the U.S., Australia, Europe and Japan.
“Beauty Bar is one of our own retail concepts,” Huang said of the shop that originated in the Philippines. “It's a cosmetics and personal care merchandise mixed brands store carrying mostly niche brands.”
Aerosoles and Beauty Bar are located next to each other and are situated across from the Gap store in the second floor of The Plaza.
Locally hired
Not only are the new shops contributing to the tourism industry with its brand appeal to tourists, GSRI is also supporting the island's “buy local” approach with its locally-hired employees.
“We've employed quite a number of locals,” Huang stated. “We hired around 62 locals to help us in our stores on Guam, with the exception of one person from the Philippines who's doing the training.”
Shoppers can also look forward to Gap's retail prices, because unlike in the United States, Guam doesn't have to face high tax rates at the register.
“It's exactly like the U.S. mainland prices plus the sales tax,” Huang reassured. “We're going to be cheaper than California.”
While the Gap store is already open at The Plaza, a second location will open its doors on Sunday, Feb. 26 at the Micronesia Mall.
Gap Inc. is one of the world's leading specialty retailers who offer clothing accessories and personal care products for men, women, children, and babies under the Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime, and Athleta brands. Guam is the second country to be managed under the company's agreement with GSRI Group.
