The online shop that built a following on Friday-night live-selling now has a showroom with a front door.
Retro Woman Philippines, an online shop for preloved (secondhand) designer bags and vintage fashion, opened its first physical showroom in Makati City on Oct. 28, giving customers a bigger space to see, touch, and try on authentic pieces at budget-friendly prices before they buy.
The showroom is on the ground floor of King’s Court II Building along Pasong Tamo corner Dela Rosa Street. The larger space aims to draw loyal customers and new clients, bringing the business closer to its online followers and to the homes, offices and shops around Makati.
For a shop that has lived on phone screens and laptops, the showroom adds something a camera cannot: a front door.
‘It is a new space for more beautiful finds and the same great deals you’ve come to love,’ said Retro Woman Philippines co-founder Jena Fetalino.
Jena and her niece, Nikki Fetalino, founded the family-run business in 2021 with a handful of pre-owned designer bags in Jena’s townhouse in Paranaque City. Both are public relations practitioners who were already busy running their own PR business.
Live selling began that November. In live selling, hosts show items on camera while viewers watch and ask questions in real time. The format let a small home operation feel like a shop floor.
‘We started live selling in November 2021, right in my townhouse, with very limited stock. Thankfully, it went well. Since we were also busy running our PR business, we decided to do live selling just once a week, every Friday. It became something our customers looked forward to, and before we knew it, Friday live selling had become a regular thing,’ Jena said.
The Friday show soon became a weekly habit for customers. The store itself took longer. Jena said it took the pair 5 years to build the courage to open one.
‘We’re honestly very happy with how far Retro Woman has come. It took us five years to finally gather the courage to open a physical store, so having our own showroom is a big milestone for us. We started small, right at home, and to see the business grow to this point is both exciting and fulfilling. It’s a reminder that sometimes, you just have to take that leap of faith,’ said Jena Fetalino.
Feeling the leather
The founders designed the showroom to make browsing part of the experience. Contemporary elements mix with vintage-inspired details. Traditional solihiya and narra chairs sit alongside vintage posters, collectible Louis Vuitton catalogues and other fashion memorabilia.
The idea is simple, the founders said. A photograph cannot fully convey the texture of leather or the way a bag sits when carried. In the showroom, buyers can inspect the stitching, assess the condition, compare sizes and try different styles before choosing the piece that suits them. Those details matter most with pre-owned pieces, where condition and small signs of wear shape a buyer’s decision.
Friday streams are staying
The showroom will complement live selling, not replace it, Jena said. Sessions run every Friday at 7 p.m. on the company’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Hosts show each bag in full light, covering the branding, interior, exterior, bottom corners, and lining, then share the item’s history and what the original owner paid. Viewers see a bag from every angle before they hear its backstory.
‘Live selling has become an integral part of Retro Woman, and we have no plans of stopping it. Our customers enjoy seeing the bags up close, hearing us talk about their features, and being able to ask questions in real time. With pre-owned luxury bags, details matter – the condition, the texture of the leather, the size, and even the little signs of wear. Photos can only show so much,’ she said.
Live selling also lets the team interact with customers and build relationships with them.
‘It’s a more personal shopping experience, and over the years, it has become a big part of what makes Retro Woman what it is today. The showroom gives customers another way to shop with us, but our Friday live selling will always have a special place in the business,’ Jena said.
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How buying works
The business is Entrupy-verified, meaning it uses Entrupy, an outside service that checks whether luxury items are authentic. It also offers authenticity checks, customer service, and flexible payment terms. Layaway plans run up to 10 months, which lets buyers pay in installments, and delivery is free nationwide. Together, the services aim to give shoppers confidence in a category where authenticity and condition decide the sale.
Customer Aileen Beltrano-Bautista said the shop carries hard-to-find vintage luxury items and gives clear condition grades, such as 8.5/10, so buyers know what to expect. She said the long layaway terms put luxury within reach. She added that the hosts’ knowledge of brand history and retail prices makes them trustworthy and transparent.
The team behind the bags
Jena set up her own PR firm, JFPRC, in 2016 and has decades of experience in communications, publishing and public relations. As president of Mosman NewMedia Inc., publisher of Medical Observer, she won the Gold Stevie Award for Female Executive of the Year in the Business Services category for small and medium-sized enterprises at the 2014 Stevie Awards for Women in Business.
JFPRC business development director Nikki, co-founder of Retro Woman Philippines, has worked in advertising, corporate communications, digital marketing and multimedia production. She handles online strategy, client relations and business growth. The aunt and niece pair Jena’s strengths in communications, leadership and media relations with Nikki’s skills in digital marketing. Maxene Andrea Pinon, a registered nurse, also joins the team on Fridays.
A growing market
The timing is good. Mobility Foresight estimates the Philippine market for secondhand luxury and pre-owned bags at P8.6 billion in 2026, nearly doubling to P16.5 billion by 2032. The figures reflect the report’s specific market definition and methodology. By that estimate, Retro Woman is stepping into a segment that continues to grow.