Island Souvenirs adds twist to Sinulog offerings

Nine years since Island Souvenirs introduced its innovative “Cut & Style” specialized service during the Sinulog Festival in Cebu, the brand has evolved and diversified its offering.

Originally focused on personalized designed T-shirts, Island Souvenirs has expanded its range to include accessories and even fashionable options for pets during the festival season.

Andrea Aldeguer, marketing head of Islands Souvenirs, said this evolution underscores the brand’s commitment to creativity and responding to the diverse preferences of its customers.

“It has always been an exciting challenge for us to continue to innovate and elevate the Islands Souvenirs Sinulog Experience by giving Sinulog-goers an avenue to express not only the spirit of the festival but also their style,” said Aldeguer.

While its signature “Cut & Style” T-shirts continue, as the brand’s bread and butter, Aldeguer said the company has added a twist to its offerings for the first time, which included DIY (do-it-yourself) tote bag designs, pet fashion, festival headdresses, among others.

Starting January 11 up to the end of the Sinulog Festival season, Island Souvenirs are putting pop-up “Cut & Style” booths in three big shopping malls in Cebu— in Ayala Center Cebu, SM City Cebu, and SM Seaside Cebu City.

Together with her team, Aldeguer said the company has put a sensitive approach to providing offerings and services for its annual “Cut & Style” festival activation, noting the changing consumer behavior, especially for the younger batch of festival goers.

She said Stickeez is another addition, offering “embellishments” in the form of direct-to-fabric decals, patches, button pins, and the option to personalize shirts and tote bags with one’s name for an added touch.

Islands also partnered with Haru Studios in all of its Cut&Style pop-up activations. Islands’ Cut&Style campaign was launched in 2013 and has since solidified its position as a staple Sinulog activity, embraced by both locals and tourists.

Sinulog Festival, Aldeguer said is among the company’s top revenue grossers, aside from the summer seasons.

The Cebuano-grown company, founded by Jay Jonathan Aldeguer, now has 80 stores located around the Philippines, particularly in tourism hotspots. In Cebu, Islands Souvenirs has about 19 branches, including popup stores.

Recently, Island Souvenirs opened its sixth store in Boracay Island, Aldeguer said as Philippine tourism benefits from the “revenge travel” and now recovers from the pandemic-caused slump, the company is drawing plans to open more stores, directing its focus to out-of-town tourism destinations.

Established in the early 90’s, Islands Souvenirs continues to lead in the souvenir sector and has become the most awarded retail concept in the Philippines. It is the only brand in the souvenir category that has nationwide distribution capabilities, with retail operations having expanded to all of the high-traffic tourist destinations in the country.

With tourism resurgence after the pandemic, the Islands name maintains its leadership position and is the top-of-mind brand in travel essentials, and souvenirs, as well as a go-to source for tourist information due to its strategically located outlets and a strong culture of customer service.