Digital Walker's First Branch Burned Down—Now They Have Over 60 Stores, Including Beyond the Box
And they're opening more throughout the country.
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(SPOT.ph) Back when Lazada and Shopee delivery drivers didn't knock on your door every other day and double-digit sales weren't a thing, Charles Paw was the "Apple accessory guy" on online tech forums. He's still that guy. It's just that now, he does it in the form of Digital Walker and Beyond the Box.
"Nung time na yun, sobrang niche market pa yung Mac. Wala pang iPhone…Sobrang small ng market," Charles recalls. "So, bibili ako ng iBook. Tapos, nag-join ako dun sa forum." iBooks, for the younger millennials and Gen Zs out there, were Apple's laptops before they were MacBooks.
"Tapos, naisip ko, wala pa masyadong accessories that time. So, naisip ko, [bibili] ako ng accessories like case ng iPad. Pero kung isa lang binili ko, mahal yung shipping." And so, he thought, why not buy five? He'd pay the same amount for shipping, anyway.
Charles has been interested in tech and gadgets since he was in his second year of college. On his first trip abroad, he went to Hong Kong and visited a computer mall. "Nakita ko, 'Uy, sobrang mura ng mga CD-ROM drive.'" At that time, they weren't as accessible at home.
He started calculating. "If I buy, [pupunuin] ko luggage ko. Pwede ko ibenta [rito]. Bawi na yung ticket ko," he recalls thinking. "Tapos pagdating dito [sa Manila], [pumunta] ako sa Greenhills. Inalok ko mga stores. Tapos naubos ko kaagad in one week." Then, he went back to Hong Kong, bought more CD-ROMs, and went home to do it all over again.
"That's how I started. Tapos after no'n…marami [nang] nagtatanong sakin if I build PCs. So, since mahilig naman ako mag-build ng mga gadgets, nagbenta na rin ako ng PCs." He got more and more customers over time. Annabelle Paw, now his wife and co-founder, was one of them as they already knew each other from high school.
This was around 2000 or 2003. (They can’t recall the exact year—it was at least two decades ago.) It was just Charles and a driver going from one client to another. "Parang 24/7 support ako. Pag may masiraan [ng] computer, tatawagan ako nang gabi, kailangan ko puntahan. Ubos oras ko."
Soon, he realized he needed a physical space so he could simply say, "Just bring it to the store." So he opened his first one in Retiro, near Banawe in Quezon City. It was called ComWiz—short for Computer Wizards.
That was his initial retail project. He's gone into many more that it was Annabelle who remembered. "Maraming pa siyang venture ng retail, hindi lang computer-related. Pero most of it, computer-related. For instance, you opened the gaming store," she reminds him. They were one of the first in network gaming.
Annabelle continues, "After no'n, he opened Digital Walker." This was in Virra Mall in Greenhills, now just called V-Mall. "Tapos, it burned down kasi the whole shopping center burned down. We had to be relocated to the carpark area."
"And then when we got married, we opened another one in Market! Market!," Annabelle shares. "From then on, dun na nag-branch out ang Digital Walker." They now run the stores with Howard Paw, who serves as AVP.
Beyond the Box—and Crumpler Bags
Beyond the Box started by chance, too. When Charles was selling in online groups, he met a friend who photographed their store for Crumpler—the OG bags for tech in the 2000s. The friend then introduced them to "the Apple guys."
"We asked, 'How do we open an Apple store?' Sabi niya, 'Just create a business plan.'" They took a risk even if it was such a niche market at the time. "Kung isang week makabenta kami ng iBook, medyo celebration na kami no'n. Kasi sobrang kaunti [ng] bumibili that time."
Apple MacBook Air 13-inch M1 Chip with 8-Core CPU and 7-Core GPU 256 GB Storage (P45,990 from P64,990 on Lazada and Shopee)
In case you need to know which store to go to for your next upgrade, they clarify the difference between Digital Walker and Beyond the Box: "Digital Walker is our accessory store. It's multi-brand. Nandiyan yung mga Marshall speakers, Nothing phone, Fitbit, ganun." Charles explains, "Beyond the Box, it's all Apple talaga."
Shokz OpenMove Wireless Bone Conduction Headphones (P3,590 from P4,490 on Lazada and Shopee); Shokz OpenFit True Wireless (P10,990 on Lazada and Shopee)
Digital Walker and Beyond the Box's Product Selection
"I can't speak for [others], pero ako kasi, sobrang hilig ko sa gadgets talaga," Charles says when asked how they select products. "Every time nga may sample sa office, na-e-excite ako, kumukuha ako, uuwiin ko para ma-try ko." That's why they have such a wide variety of brands and accessories. "Sobrang passionate ako sa gadgets talaga."
He also does his own research on crowdfunding websites like Indiegogo and Kickstarter for innovative products that haven't hit mainstream yet. "Ang dami kong in-o-order dun…So, every week may mga two or three items na dumadating na bago. I really look for new stuff."
Annabelle also emphasizes the products' practicality. "[They’re] something that you would use. So we try out a sample—if it's functional, if it's nice."
Their interest and passion for tech products have made them known to international brands. She says, "Other brands look for us already. We’ve established ourselves as the premium accessories store. So, brands [na] lumalapit sa'min."
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max (P82,390 from P91,990 on Lazada and Shopee); Apple iPhone 15 Pro (P88,790 from P96,990 on Lazada and Shopee)
Apple FineWoven Case with MagSafe for iPhone 15 Series (P3,790 from P3,990 on Lazada and Shopee); UAG Plyo Magsafe Case for iPhone 14 Series (from P650 on Shopee)
Digital Walker and Beyond the Box's Bestsellers
Over the years, they've already noticed the tech trends based on their customers. "Before the pandemic, malakas lahat ng powerbanks," Charles says. "Tapos nung nag-lockdown, namatay yung powerbanks. Lumakas naman yung wireless." People wanted to work from home efficiently and without the clutter of wires.
Acefast Crystal Series M2 Fast Charge Powerbank 30W (P3,390 from P3,990 on Lazada and Shopee); Momax iPower PD 5 20000mAh (P2,490 from P2,790 on Lazada and Shopee); Momax Q.Mag X1 10000mAh (P3,390 from P3,690 on Lazada and Shopee)
Marshall Emberton II Bluetooth Speaker (P8,990 from P9,990 on Lazada and Shopee); Marshall Middleton Bluetooth Speaker (P14,290 from P15,990 on Lazada and Shopee)
"Tapos ngayon, bumabalik na yung travel. So, [umuuso ulit yung] travel accessories like travel chargers. Powerbanks ulit, bumalik," he reveals.
As for holiday gift go-tos? Marshall speakers. They're sleek enough to give to someone special and you get bang for your buck with the quality.
Marshall Woburn III Bluetooth Speaker (P37,490 from P39,990 on Lazada and Shopee); Marshall Stanmore III Bluetooth Speaker (P23,490 on Lazada and P24,490 on Shopee from P25,990); Marshall Acton III Bluetooth Speaker (P17,990 from P18,990 on Lazada and Shopee)
Momax PINPOP Find My Tracker (P850 from P990 on Lazada and Shopee)
"May isang time, malakas ang cameras. Hawak din namin yung Joby...yung parang gorillapod. Tapos marami siyang mga pang-vlogging na products," he says. You can get into nearly any hobby—running, gaming, photography, videography—and buy what you need from their stores.
Joby Wavo Air (P14,490 on Lazada and Shopee); Joby Wavo Pod (P5,590 from P5,990 on Lazada and Shopee)
Apple AirPods 2nd Generation Early 2019 - Standard Charging Case (P6,390 from P8,990 on Lazada); Apple AirPods (3rd Gen, Late 2021) with MagSafe Charging Case (P11,590 from P12,990 on Lazada); Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Gen) (P14,490 from P15,990 on Lazada)
If you've ever stepped into and bought an item in-store at Digital Walker or Beyond the Box, then you know you'll step out with new gadgets ready to go because of their dedicated set-up spaces.
"We want our customers to experience also what it's like. Part din ng every Digital Walker [na] may demo table. We try to have demos of all our newest products available so they can try before they buy," Charles explains.
(clockwise from top left) Shokz OpenRun Mini Wireless Bone Conduction Headphones (P6,590 from P7,490 on Lazada and Shopee); Marshall Motif II ANC True Wireless Earbuds (P9,790 from P10,290 on Lazada); Shokz OpenFit True Wireless (P10,990 on Lazada and Shopee)
Digital Walker and Beyond the Box's Newest Stores
It used to be just Charles flying back and forth between Hong Kong and Manila, going store to store in Greenhills, then driving around in the middle of the night to help customers with troubleshooting. And when he opened the first Digital Walker, it got moved to a parking area after a fire.
Today, Digital Walker and Beyond the Box's entire staff is made up of nearly 600 people—which is bound to go up as they're opening stores left and right throughout the country. They're eyeing more store openings in the provinces and major cities outside Manila, like Cebu and GenSan. One of their top-performing stores is actually Digital Walker in Robinsons Place La Union, which is perfectly placed for digital nomads working from the beach.
Apple iPad Pro 12.9" Wi-Fi (6th Gen, Late 2022) (P73,990 from P78,490 on Lazada and Shopee); Apple Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro 11" 1st - 4th Gen / iPad Air 10.5" 4th-5th Gen (P18,490 on Lazada and Shopee)
They've also recently launched open_source by Beyond the Box in two newly opened malls: Mitsukoshi in BGC and Parqal in Parañaque for more lifestyle-adjacent gadgets. "Pro technology kami, e'. So kung sino yung bago, dapat meron kami," Charles says.
"Gusto namin, [kung] anong number one sa market, dapat meron kami." And just like how they started in the 2000s—selling Apple, a brand nearly no one has heard of—they still make even the most niche products available to customers through online exclusives on Lazada, Shopee, or their websites.
They've made everything accessible through both their online and offline stores. So the next time you need to buy new tech, you don't have to run. Just walk.
Digital Walker is available on Lazada and Shopee. See a list of Digital Walker branches. Beyond the Box is available on Lazada and Shopee. See a list of Beyond the Box branches.
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