By Ivan Saldajeno
PASAY—The NBA Store has finally landed at the SM Mall of Asia.
On Thursday, the said merchandise shop's second active branch opened with NBA fans flocking to the 500-square-meter store on the second floor of the said mall's Entertainment Mall section.
NBA Philippines teamed up with Titan to make the NBA Store MOA branch possible.
"Having Titan as our partner in opening the store has been so exciting. All throughout the conception process, they've always had a good vision of how do you engage the basketball fan, and they've done such a great job here. We're thinking about not just the product that we're offering but what we want the NBA fan to experience in the store," said Lesley Rulloda, NBA Asia's head of global merchandise.
Aside from the official NBA merchandise, the NBA Store MOA branch also has interactive areas: a viewing section with a giant screen where fans can watch live games while shopping and a gaming section where they can play NBA 2K23.
The addition of the viewing section is timely as the NBA Playoffs are ongoing.
"There are so many fans that actually can't go to an actual game, so how do you engage with the brand other than through the product is through watching the game, talking with other fans, and bantering about your favorite teams and players. And being able to provide our fans that experience only helps our overall fandom for the brand as well," Rulloda further said.
To further add to the NBA Playoffs hype, the Larry O'Brien Trophy is on display at the new NBA Store until the end of the conference finals.
What makes the new NBA Store unique, however, is the addition of merchandise for female fans.
"We want the women's business actually to be even bigger, so we think that there's a lot of opportunity," Rulloda further said.
She even bared that the NBA Store will also sell WNBA merchandise, adding that the first batch of the said merchandise was quickly sold out during the pre-selling.
The NBA Store MOA branch is open during mall hours.
Follow him on Twitter: @IvanSaldajeno
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