Pull & Bear in the Philippines: Price points, top picks, what to expect

MANILA, Philippines – Pull & Bear, under Spanish company Inditex, has opened their first store in the Philippines officially last October 22.  

Here are a few things to expect: 

Pull & Bear is located on the 2nd floor of SM Mega Fashion Hall, directly under Ippudo, on the 3rd floor. It’s right next to Guess. 

Menswear and womenswear are both available. There’s a casual, West Coast vibe. The clothes are trendy, though there are a few basics available.

There’s a curated feel to the way the clothes are presented, with separate stations in the store each having a different look and feel to them.  

Perhaps one benefit of being part of the Inditex group is that the merchandise, characteristic of their stores abroad as well as with their sister labels, is carefully displayed in a meticulously lit, spacious environment.

The clothes don’t feel too cramped, and the items are cohesively presented to offer a variety of styling suggestions. The same is consistent with material from the Inditex group: notably, Zara, plus Stradivarius and Bershka. 

Instead of pulling out all their merchandise and leaving it on the floor, there are only a few items out at a time – giving merchandisers the chance to show off more styling suggestions, showing customers different combinations for the pieces – down to the shoes. 

On the whole and taking into consideration the other brands in its competing range, the price points are not outrageous – but the items don’t run cheap, either. Some of the investment pieces run up to the P7,000 range. 

There are also shoes for women and men – make a stop at the car fixture in the middle, where most of the shoes are displayed. 

Most of the sizes run up to L or XL for the ladies, and up to XXL for the gents. 

There are a couple of small areas for accessories – notable among them, a wall of statement necklaces – but the highlights from Pull & Bear are really from the casual separates, particularly the outerwear.  

Because the feel is decidedly laid-back, there are a lot of relaxed fabrics and styles – distressed denims, playful patterns, statement shirts, oversized sweaters, and, especially for the menswear, more experimental combinations (a plain gray sweatshirt with jungle-inspired floral sleeves comes to mind).  

Key items that were prominent to me include a faux fur caramel coat, a sharp cropped top and pencil skirt set, and a leather backpack. Key details, including the branding on even the belts, and the variety of colors in which the basic items (trousers and light sweaters) are presented, were also notable. 

The brand joins other foreign names in SM Mega Fashion Hall, making the competition for shoppers’ attention that much fiercer. H&M opened just a few paces away last October 17, and Bershka, Uniqlo, Ever New, Aeropostale, Vero Moda, Americal Eagle Outfitters, Topshop/Topman, Dorothy Perkins/Burton, Giordano Ladies, and River Island are all in the same vicinity. Zara, from the same parent company Inditex, quietly opened its two-level store to customers on October 2. – Rappler.com