F&F continues to expand to 20 countries, with store opening in the Philippines

Tesco, the country's largest retailer, recently opened its first F&F clothing

stores in the Philippines, as part of its expansion strategy to expand to 20 countries around the world.

F&F and its local franchise partner in the Philippines, Stores Specialist Inc, plans to open an additional ten stores this year. "These new stores, as well as our recent openings in the Middle East, show how committed we are to making F&F a truly global affordable fashion brand," commented F&F's chief executive Jason Tarry, with the first F&F store in Manila set to open this spring.

Planet Retail, retail analyst firm, believes that the store opening is a "positive" step for F&F, adding that "the franchising option will enable Tesco to grow the operation rapidly in the Philippines with limited capital investment."

The clothing label also recently opened new stores in Bahrain, Jordan and Dubai, as part of its franchise agreement with Dubai-based Al Futtaim conglomerate company. Sources close to the company recently revealed to Reuters that Tesco is contemplating expanding its F&F clothing stores to Russia, whose market has been boosted by a rising middle class.

F&F, Tesco's low-cost apparel label was first launched in the UK and Republic of Ireland in 2001 and has expanded to countries like Poland, Turkey, Malaysia, China and Thailand and ships to 30 countries via it e-commerce platform.