The Philippine Online Chronicles

Online shopping in the Philippines is now as common as buying vinegar and soy sauce from the street corner. With the onslaught of Facebook and Multiply merchants, one can already purchase a whole outfit while sitting down in a favorite couch! No wonder many are hooked and consider the online marketplace as a regular shopping haunt.

While many may think that online shopping has already reached its peak, something came along that changed (and improved) it — Catalogue 63. Catalogue 63 curates independent and up-and-coming Filipino brands all in one online shopping hub. If individual Multiply and Facebook accounts are boutiques, then Catalogue 63 is a mall.

An online mall

Housed in Catalogue 63 are numerous local fashion brands that boast of stylish competitive pieces. These are Amaranta, And, Bags by Two Oranges, Bonne, Caleigh Madison, Celine, Daley, Grubbies, Lulu, MCV Designs, MNM by Matthew & Melka, Shiq, Sienna, Sonsy, Sunday Night, Switch Straps, Tala, Toni and Berne, Twochic, Vanilla Label, Vel, Vestito, Violet Vine, and Walk Kitty Walk. Items from these brands range from plain tops, cocktail dresses, casual and evening bags, trendy shoes, and statement accessories.

With the site’s polished and professional-looking layout, Catalogue 63 loads all available pieces quickly making it a breeze for one to browse.  The clothes and other apparel are also photographed well, although they cannot be zoomed in to see the minute details. Dresses, tops, and bottoms are modelled too, like in other international shopping sites like Luisaviaroma, Shopbop, and Saks Fifth Avenue, so one can see how the clothes look like when worn.

Shopping in Catalogue 63 is simple. Anyone can shop either as a registered user or a guest shopper, although it is more convenient to register in the site so you no longer have to keep entering your payment and other details every time you purchase.

Aside from being an e-commerce site, Catalogue 63 also offers other features that aid in one’s overall shopping experience. There’s the Wishlist feature which allows registered users to save and keep tabs of all their picks (which is very useful when you intend to buy them on sale), and Catalogue 63’s blog, which features fashion boards showcasing the items they have in store as well as trend reports.

Beyond shopping

Catalogue 63 is the brainchild of three entrepreneurs and long-time friends Martina Gomez, Patricia Pastelero, and Kathleen King. Because of the thriving online market, they decided to take online shopping a step further by establishing a site that is more than just another virtual store.

“My partners and I created Catalogue 63 because of the desire to take local online shopping a notch higher. We noticed that the local online market was growing but many independent online stores were selling their merchandise in various social networks that were not necessarily made for e-commerce. We wanted to take local online shopping a notch higher, offering customers a more seamless online experience and also create a hub that put the best local brands together in one place,” said Gomez, co-owner and Marketing Manager of Catalogue 63.

With a solid idea in hand, the three of them decided to make it a reality. They named their concept virtual store Catalogue 63 after the Philippines’ country code.

“First, we looked at a number of international retail websites – those that we were familiar with and those that were offering the same service Catalogue 63 wanted to offer. We studied what features worked and what we felt were unnecessary. Based on this, one of our partners created the website, integrating the features we like and modifying those that we felt needed improvement.  We also have a consultant who helps us with bug fixes and any other issues that may arise,” Gomez said.

As any other endeavour, the beginning of Catalogue 63 was also marred with difficulties and challenges. Gomez recalls that they had problems in making sure that all the elements of their website were in working order at the day of the launch. Aside from this, they also had browser compatibility issues, gift certificate options, and payment options to deal with. These problems were the easiest to fix though. Their more pressing problem was how to teach their customers to shop using the new platform.

“A number of our customers were used to how online shopping is done on social networks which is basically messaging between the seller and the buyer. We had to reassure the customers that even if they complete the entire transaction, from browsing the products to payment, all on the Catalogue 63 site itself, we would receive their order and payment securely and they would get their purchases,” she said.

True to its cause, Catalogue 63 has become a one-stop shop for consumers who want nothing less but the convenience of online shopping and exposure to promising local brands.  The owners made sure to feature only local brands in their store because they believed in the creativity and quality of local fashion goods.

“All our items are proudly made in the Philippines. More than just local brands, we make sure that all the brands we partner with also have their goods made here. We believe in Filipino craftsmanship and creativity and we want to support local manufacturers,” she said.

Catalogue 63 ensures that the ones they curate in their store are the ones they personally believe and admire.

“We choose brands that we personally believe in and brands that are serious about it - not just hobbyists who make a collection every now and then but brands who develop collections on a fairly regular basis. It ended up that most of the brands we've partnered with are those that we like and have been familiar with even before we launched the site. A few of them were recommended to us by friends, or have heard great things about,” Gomez said. “Sometimes, the brands approach us. We are always on the lookout for inspired designs and when we find them, we approach them. If a brand would like to partner with us, we meet them and get to know their brands and products. We study their designs and examine their quality. If we feel that they would be a good match with Catalogue 63, we partner with them as well.”

Definitely, Catalogue 63 is not your ordinary online shop. Not only do they make online shopping easier and more efficient, they also strive to promote independent local brands and give them a stable footing in the country’s large fashion market. A boon both to Philippine consumers and to local brands, Catalogue 63 may well be near its goal of becoming one of the premier online shopping hubs in the country.