Scandinavian concept store focuses on sustainability

The world’s resources are becoming increasingly limited, so the Danish variety store chain Flying Tiger Copenhagen prefers to use renewable materials whenever it’s doable.

Its paper and wooden products, for example, come from sustainable forestry. Items such as notebooks, napkins, and most of its tableware products carry the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) tree logo on the packaging — a sign of responsible forestry. The brand also minimizes single use in its personal care products and kitchen range.

To operate more on sustainability, Flying Tiger Copenhagen has optimized and reduced the use of mixed materials in its packaging. 

“We removed a lot of our packaging to let the products speak for themselves,” Martin Jermiin, chief executive officer of Flying Tiger Copenhagen said. 

Sustainable steps

Flying Tiger Copenhagen is committed to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Some of its targets for 2022 were sourcing 100 percent paper and wood products from sustainable forestry, 20 percent reduction of packaging materials, 50 percent renewable energy in own operations; and 50 percent reduction of plastic products, 50 percent recycled plastic in plastic products, and 50 percent reduction of single-use products by 2025.

Humble beginnings

Flying Tiger Copenhagen traces its roots back to a stall at a flea market in Denmark where its founder, Lennart Lajboschitz, sold umbrellas with his wife Suz. Then, in 1988, the couple opened their first brick-and-mortar store in the local neighborhood of Copenhagen. Currently, the variety retail concept has 842 stores across 27 countries. It recently opened its first branch in the Philippines at Glorietta 4 mall. 

“The opening of our first Flying Tiger Copenhagen store in the Philippines marks the start of our exciting expansion in Southeast Asia. This is an important milestone for our brand, and we are very pleased to have partnered up with SSI Group on this monumental market entry,” Jermiin said. 

The Glorietta store has a generous floor space of 187.46 square meters and a comprehensive selection of up to a thousand items, spanning various categories of gadgets, games, hobbies, home, kitchen, media, office, party, personal care, textile and toys. 

“We bring Scandinavian elements, affordability, and create a joyful experience for customers in our stores. Seeing people smile and share their finds captures the essence of what we aim to bring to our customers,” he added.

Based on the fantastic reception of its first store in the Philippines, Flying Tiger Copenhagen aims to open more local branches. 

“We want to be there for everyone, we want to design products for every occasion. We are very fortunate to reach many and design to whoever and for anyone we like,” Jermiin said.