February 2008 Archives

Here's one of the videos from the first plenary session with Willy Arcilla, INQUIRER.net's consultant for business mentoring in this blog. Coming next, video and short introductions from our "contenders". Enjoy!

Last Friday’s plenary session with Willy E. Arcilla, Open For Business’ consultant for business mentoring, was a showcase of big dreams, big hearts and high hopes. Twelve of the applicants for business mentoring made it to the event, while two were scheduled to be hooked up via phone and instant messenger. Unfortunately, my MacBook was not up to the task because the owner was not tech-savvy enough (sorry) so the interview with Rica would be scheduled this week instead. Two of the applicants found out about the event too late, but would still be included in the short list. It turned out so well that I could sense Willy didn't want to have to choose only eight from the 14 businesses that made it to the shortlist. But we had to limit the number to eight, so I'm afraid some of those who came will have to be dropped from the year-long business mentoring activity. :-( On the bright side, at least they had one plenary session to remember, and a free invitation to a Marketing For Entrepreneurs seminar at the Hotel Sofitel, courtesy of Willy, who was a speaker at the event. As I said, it was a showcase of big dreams, big hearts and high hopes. Most of the business owners who attended were very young. In fact, we had a 26-year old who dreamed of being chairman of a national water company before he turns 30! Talk about big, exciting dreams. We spent the morning listening to an inspiring message from Willy, and hearing from the business owners in an eye-opening session that brightens the future look for the Philippines despite the political brouhaha going on. More details to follow, but here are some photos of the event. Willy gave us a reason to love being entrepreneurs, and helped us understand that entrepreneurship is more than just operation headaches, sprucing up sales and managing people. It is, more than anything else, a way to achieve our dreams and the proud destiny of our nation. We tried to be formal and proper... ...but couldn't resist showing our true colors! It was a super fun morning. The applicants all ended up calling each other 'classmates' and looking forward to their first real class with Willy. More to follow, including videos and voice files of the event. Batch 2008!

I was craving for ice cream yesterday, so I excitedly approached a Nestle scoopery stand to buy two big sugarcones of ice cream for me and my friend. To my surprise, the girl at the counter refused to sell us big sugarcones. She could only sell two small cones for P10 each because that was the standard promo of the day. "Can't you sell two big cones to us? Just charge us more?" we ask, with our tastebuds already complaining about the delay. "Let me just ask my supervisor," she says. At which point, a slightly irritated supervisor tells us, "Sorry, but that's our promo for today! P10 only per cone." Goodbye, customers. That could have been a sale, right there. But a promotion strategy carelessly put together, employees who are not willing to think like owners, and inability to think out of the box -- in this case, a cone -- caused a sale to fall through.

(Very few people can resist something when it's out of the ordinary. Photo from AFP) Customers like nice surprises. Shopping at Iora one day, the lady at the counter packed my blouses in a nice cloth bag instead of the usual plastic or paper bag. It probably cost the store a few more pesos than the plastic or paper ones, but it certainly made me remember the brand and decide to come back again. Of course, the nice packaging wouldn’t matter one bit if the products they sold were no good. But since I loved the blouses, it made Iora stand out from the crowd. This reminded of an article recently published in the Philippine Daily Inquirer that says “To keep customers loyal, offer more than what is expected.”

NOW that dollar-spending foreign tourists are rediscovering the Philippines, local retailers and mall operators are bound to experience a noticeable increase in sales as well as competition from one another. Despite such motherhood statements as “having it all,” no single establishment can ever claim to have everything under one roof. Standing out from a crowded field can, indeed, be a daunting challenge even to the biggest and most astute player. Like the Emporium Shopping Complex on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok, Manila-based shopping establishments need to go beyond what’s expected of them to keep local and foreign customers happy and loyal. Dubbed as “the ultimate shopping complex,” the trendy Emporium, apart from directly operating a multilevel department store, houses high-end tenants as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Fendi, Dolce & Gabbana and Gucci. It’s also the home of such mass-market chains as Zara, Guess, Greyhound and Esprit. In terms of size, however, it pales in comparison to a number of bigger, more diverse establishments in Bangkok, including its newer and equally upscale sister mall, the Siam Paragon. Both malls and a number of other properties in Thailand are owned and managed by the Mall Group. What the Emporium lacks in size, it tries to make up for in terms of services targeted specifically to tourists, expatriates and Thailand’s ever growing “hi-so” (high society) set. Out of the box Under the helm of former hotelier Paipan Laklaem, the Emporium’s senior shopping complex manager, the mall has been providing department store clients out-of-the-box services inspired by a five-star hotel’s efficient and friendly concierge. “We’re certainly not the only department store in Bangkok,” said Laklaem. “By providing these services, we hope to give something different to our customers.” The services include so-called “hands-free” shopping, limousine service and flight reconfirmation. For internal as well as external marketing purposes, such features are grouped under the Emporium’s tourist service center. “It’s one of the advantages of being small,” said Laklaem, a former sales manager of the Peninsula Bangkok. “Unlike in the case of bigger malls, it’s not as difficult for us to look after the needs of our customers regardless of the market segment.” The hands-free service allows the shopper to shop at any of the department store’s five levels without queuing to pay every so often or lugging around heavy bags. Selected items can be paid for in one transaction and collected later at a designated area. Tourism remains and will continue to remain vital in Thailand. Apart from an English-speaking staff led by frequent visitor to the Philippines Watchareewan Singkaew, the Emporium’s customer relations manager, the department store has a number of multilingual interpreters on standby to assist Japanese, Korean, Russian, French and German tourists. Tourists, especially those leaving on evening flights, can check out of their hotels by noon and use the extra time to shop at the Emporium. What about their luggage? They can deposit them at the Emporium’s Platinum lounge until the time comes for them to leave for the airport. Mall hours are from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. “We even go out of our way to help them repack their things,” said Laklaem. “Should they need to ship items to their respective countries, we can arrange that for them through DHL.” An information counter also offers money-changing services and VAT refund for tourists. Mall personnel can even assist shoppers make cinema and restaurant reservations as well as hook them up with taxi and car-rental services. As its experience has shown, size doesn’t necessarily matter. In fact, some foreign customers, especially politicians, celebrities and members of royalty, relish the relative anonymity and discreet atmosphere a more intimate mall such as the Emporium offers.

It takes a lot of creativity to think out of the box, and plan to offer more than what is expected by your customers. If you own a water refilling station, for example, an SMS service might be valuable for busy moms in meetings whose children suddenly ran out of water. Add some SMS reminders on how to keep water safe from bacteria, send them out at least once a week to your customers, and you will always be top of mind for any busy parent. Let’s say you’re a laundry service. Keeping a database of your customers and the contents of their laundry basket may help you give them a better experience of dealing with you as a returning customer – and you will be able to remind them that the hubby’s jusi barong needs its annual cleaning! As the article said towards the end: It pays to stand out of the crowd.

This article is too important to miss for those who are planning on starting a business or thinking of expanding an existing one. But don't forget, this is still in the works:

MANILA, Philippines -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has ordered a study on the feasibility of cutting interest rates on government loans to micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs), an official said Thursday. Presidential Management Staff Cerge Remonde said that he had asked officials involved in lending to MSMEs to do the study after the President issued the directive. “Only last week I was telling them to find ways and means to bring down further the interest rates that we can charge so that really this can be more attractive to people,” Remonde told reporters at a news briefing. Remonde, who is the oversight official for MSME development, said President Arroyo issued the directive because of “her desire to have the program reach and help more people.” Government financial institutions in a program called SME Unified Lending Opportunities for National Growth charge interest of 9.0 to 12.0 percent per annum, said Benel Lagua, president of the government’s Small Business Guarantee and Finance Corp. Loans to micro-enterprises carry 10-12 percent, said Edgar Genoroso, president of the government’s People’s Credit and Finance Corp. Micro-enterprises usually borrow P5,000 to P10,000 but can go as high as P50,000. Small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) borrow P200,000 to P5 million. Lagua said his office was trying to negotiate with the Department of Finance to cut its cost of money. “Once we are able to do that, we will pass it on to our SME borrowers,” he said. Genoroso said his office had to consider “our cost of funds.” Edited by INQUIRER.net

Whether in services, consumer goods, beauty and health care, or food business, each entrepreneur must stay on top of trends. Here is a regular Philippine Daily Inquirer feature that should give many of you an idea on trends that could complement your business. This is just an excerpt so if you want to read the entire article, click here. These are the fastest moving products in the various establishments: Jollibee 1. Chickenjoy 2. Yum burger 3. French fries McDonald’s 1. Chicken McDo 2. Burger McDo 3. French fries 4. Chicken nuggets 5. Big Mac Chowking 1. Chicken lauriat 2. Halo-halo 3. Siopao asado 4. Pork siomai 5. Beef wanton (spicy and classic) Goldilocks 1. Mamon 2. Ensaymada 3. Chiffon cake slices 4. Polvoron 5. Caramel popcorn SM Supermarkets’ best sellers 1. SM Bonus fresh chilled chicken 2. Gainplus Eye-Q 1.8 kg. 3. SM Bonus refined white sugar 1 kg. 4. Milo 300 kg. 5. Progress Gold 1.6 kg. 6. Gardenia white bread * * * Here are the top selling cars, hardware and more department store items. Best-selling vehicles for 2007 •Toyota Innova—10,544 units sold •Toyota Vios—8,717 •Honda Civic—7,603 •Toyota Fortuner—7,216 •Toyota Avanza—6,257 •Isuzu Crosswind—5,386 •Mitsubishi Adventure—5,087 •Honda CRV—4,388 •Honda City—3,926 •Toyota Altis—3,603 Handyman’s top selling items 1. Black and Decker drill 2. Do it Best Paint 3. High Gear Tire Black 4. Bow wow Dog Chow 5. Power Saver Max True Value’s best sellers 1. Aluminum Garden Gazebo 2. Monnaco Massage Table 3. True Value Paint 4. Smells Begone odor absorber 5. Webber BBQ Grills Microwarehouse 1. iPod 2. Linksys wireless products 3. Belkin peripherals 4. Apple computing products 5. iHome ACE Hardware’s 2007 best sellers 1. Cool air-cooling fan 2. Asahi cooling fan 3. Cool air industrial 18” fan with oscillation 4. Grand Prix contact cement (Rugby) 5. Baron Premium extended range antenna HBC 1. Hortaleza professional cuticle coat (hair varnish) 2. Body recipe calamansi soap 3. San san pressed powder 4. Hortaleza MD Glutathione drink 5. Ohm cologne (power) Toy Kingdom Express 1. Sony PSP 2. Nintendo DS Lite 3. Gameboy Advance 4. Nintendo wii 5. Playstation 3 SM’s Baby Company 1. Kids rider 2. Looney Tunes crib playpen 3. Looney Tunes stroller 4. Pigeon electric sanitizer 5. Pigeon feeding bottles

Wondering what level the peso will be at this year (against the dollar of course)? Perhaps you need it for your business strategy or for accounting purposes. Here is a running tally of what analysts and economists see for the peso this year. This feature of Open For Business will be regularly updated. So bookmark this blog! Citibank - P38 in Q1, P35 by yearend (as of February 4, 2008) American Express - P40 by yearend (as of December 27, 2007) HSBC -- P37.2 by yearend (as of January 25, 2008) Standard Chartered - P39.50 by yearend (as of January 25, 2008) JP Morgan - P38.50 by yearend (as of January 25, 2008) NEDA -- average P42 to P45 for 2008 (as of January 1, 2008) Former central bank governor Joey Cuisia -- P38.50 to P39 by yearend (as of January 29, 2008) PNB treasurer Ramon Lim - bottom of P38 for 2008 (as of December 31, 2007) Roland Avante, treasurer of Chinatrust -- P37 (as of December 31, 2007) Asia United Bank SVP and treasurer Antonio Agcaoili Jr. - P35 to P37 in 2008 (as of December 31, 2007) Jose Emmanuel Hilado, chief foreign exchange dealer at BDO -- break into P39 but only briefly (as of December 31, 2007) BNP Paribas - P30 for 2008 (as of December 31) Bear Stearns - P41 for 2008 (as of December 31) *INQUIRER.net does NOT recommend these figures. They are published only for readers’ information. INQUIRER.net will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a reader's reliance on information obtained from this blog.

(Photo from AFP) If you believe the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), businesses in the consumer sector will continue to have a profitable year in 2008, despite the appreciation of the peso. Read this article:

MANILA, Philippines -- The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has downplayed concerns that consumer spending, a major growth driver of the economy, may be dampened this year by the continuing strengthening of the peso. Myrna Asuncion, NEDA director for policy and planning, said personal consumption would remain a major contributor to the country’s economic growth this year. “Although [the value of] remittances shrinks with the appreciation of the peso, more Filipinos are landing higher-quality jobs that provide better salaries,” Asuncion told reporters Thursday on the sidelines of the NEDA news briefing on the economy’s performance in 2007. Better salaries mean that these overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) can send more dollars to their families in the Philippines, thus sustaining the growth in personal consumption. Also expected to fuel growth in personal consumption this year is the expected increase in the number of employed Filipinos. The National Statistics Office, an attached agency of the NEDA, earlier reported that unemployment rate settled at 6.3 percent of the country’s labor force in October last year, marking a full percentage-point drop from the 7.3 percent recorded in the same month in 2006. The peso has risen by close to 20 percent last year and this means that more dollars are needed to pay for local goods and services. This gave rise to fears that personal consumption would be constrained this year, as many Filipino families rely heavily on money remitted ances brought in by some eight million OFWs. In 2007, personal consumption grew 6.0 percent, compared with 5.5 percent in 2006. The faster growth in consumer spending was credited partly to the unabated increase in remittances from OFWs. Net factor income from abroad, which includes remittances from OFWs, grew 12.6 percent in 2007, slowing down from 13.3 percent in 2006. Critics said the slower growth could eventually pull down growth of personal consumption.