ALMOST SEVEN out of 10 Filipinos are more worried about rising grocery prices than the possibility of another pandemic, a report by marketing data and analytics company Kantar showed.

“When we asked our respondents what concerns them most, top of the list and on top of their minds would be rising grocery prices… They’re even more scared of the rising grocery prices over another pandemic crisis from happening again,” Laurice Padlan-Obana, Kantar Philippines Worldpanel Division Consumer and Shopper Insight director, said during a virtual briefing on Wednesday.

Kantar’s Shopperscope 2023 report showed that 67% or seven out of 10 Filipinos are more concerned with rising grocery prices, while 50% were worried about another pandemic and 44% were concerned over higher fuel costs.

The survey used for the Kantar report was conducted from February to April and covered 2,000 households across the Philippines.   

Inflation peaked at 8.7% in January, as prices of food and fuel continued to surge. Since then, the consumer price index slowed to 8.6% in February, 7.6% in March and 6.6% in April.

Kantar said Filipino consumers were also concerned over the impact of climate change (39%), possible fuel shortages (34%), physical and mental health of self and others (30%), future financial security (30%), political conflict with other countries (28%), economic outlook of the country (24%), and food shortage (23%). 

However, most Filipinos remained hopeful in the next 12 months, with only 8% of respondents expect their situation to worsen.   

Ms. Padlan-Obana said more Filipinos are putting more emphasis on price and affordability when choosing where to purchase grocery items.

Consumers are also looking for stores with longer hours and quick checkouts as they return to their regular routines, she added.

The Kantar report classified Filipino shoppers into three groups — “struggling” or those who are unable to cover their expenses; “managing” or people who finds ways to make both ends meet; and “comfortable” or those who have the least budget constraints.   

“The ‘struggling’ are foremost concerned about rising prices and another pandemic happening. The ‘managing’ shoppers are concerned about the same things as struggling shoppers. The ‘comfortable’ are not only concerned about rising prices of goods but also about their health and their financial security in the future,” Ms. Padlan-Obana said.   

She noted majority of Filipinos are those that can find ways to make ends meet, which means they have a lot of discipline when making purchases.

Ms. Padlan-Obana said fast-moving consumer goods brands and retailers should understand the shopping behavior and preference of these shopper groups.

All three shopper groups buy their grocery items at hypermarkets, supermarkets, groceries, sari-sari stores, convenience stores, drug stores, and direct sales, with varying levels of frequency and loyalty.   

“The way to win them is communicating how they can save and maximize value in what they are paying for,” Ms. Padlan-Obana said.

The report also showed 68% of Filipinos plan their trips with a budget and grocery list. “Comfortable” shoppers also bring their families along during grocery shopping while “struggling” shoppers typically go by themselves. 

“Shoppers go to hypermarkets and supermarkets in a purposive and deliberate manner. It is highly planned, going straight to the aisles to look for where items on their list are found,” Ms. Padlan-Obana said.   

The report also showed Filipinos are visiting sari-sari stores more often, with a 5% annual increase to 212 trips. Nearly all or 99.7% of households buy from sari-sari stores, Kantar added.

Original Article: https://www.bworldonline.com/top-stories/2023/07/13/533867/7-out-of-10-filipinos-worry-over-rising-grocery-prices-kantar/

MANILA, Philippines – Lucio Co’s Puregold Price Club is expanding its foothold in the Greater Manila Area through the acquisition of 14 stores of DiviMart supermarkets.

The deal will instantly convert all acquired DiviMart locations to Puregold under a sublease transaction.

These 14 stores are located in:

• Angat, Bulacan
• Pandi, Bulacan
• Morong, Bataan
• Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija
• Olongapo City
• San Isidro, Taytay, Rizal
• San Miguel, Pasig City
• General Trias, Cavite
• Bacoor, Cavite
• Cabuyao, Laguna
• Tayuman, Manila
• Aliaga, Nueva Ecija
• Taytay, Rizal
• Pulilan, Bulacan

An additional 18 DiviMart locations will be evaluated for possible conversion to Puregold stores, according to Puregold’s stock exchange filing.

DiviMart is a Filipino supermarket chain founded in 1989 by Harry Uy and Vivian Ong Juanitas. It has over 30 branches nationwide and is known for its affordable goods.

Puregold told regulators that the acquisition is below 10% of the company’s book value.

“The parties are still finalizing the definite consideration for the contemplated transaction because the evaluation of store locations, improvements, furniture, fixtures, equipment, and merchandise inventory is still ongoing,” Puregold said.

As of end-March, Puregold had a total of 531 stores nationwide – 456 Puregold stores, 23 S&R Membership Shopping Warehouses, and 52 S&R New York Style QSRs.

Puregold’s consolidated net income went up 12% to P2.4 billion in the first three months of 2023.

Net sales for the first quarter rose by 15% P44.4 billion. Puregold Stores contributed P30 billion while S&R Warehouses contributed Php 14.4 billion. – Rappler.com

Original Article: https://www.rappler.com/business/puregold-acquires-divimart-supermarkets/

Pandamart, foodpanda’s online grocery store, has launched its first-ever physical pop-up store in the country.  The new pandamart Pop-Up store is located in Trinoma Mall in Quezon City ready to serve consumers with its wide assortment of fresh, frozen, snacks, drinks, pantry essentials, pharmaceuticals, and other household items.  Now shoppers can fully immerse themselves in the pandamart shopping experience.

The new pandamart pop-up store allows consumers to browse through the displayed products in the kiosk, order conveniently in the foodpanda app, and pick up the items
on the same day.

“The online grocery space is ever-growing and ever-changing, so to keep up with the current times, we are stepping up our game in offering a wide selection of quality groceries to customers,” said Danielle Eleazar, Head of Marketing (New Verticals) of foodpanda Philippines.

Apart from offering a leveled-up experience to consumers, the pandamart pop-up store is also bridging the gap between the usage of online and offline channels when it comes to grocery shopping for its app users.

Available until the end of May, pandamart’s pop-up store provides impressive features to give shoppers and consumers a first-hand experience of what pandamart has to offer.

Pandamart shoppers are in for a treat.  Exciting activities, exclusive promos, discount vouchers, item giveaways from brand partners await pandamart shoppers; additional chances to win more prizes with the entertaining spin-the-wheel games.  But wait, it doesn’t stop there!  On May 27, tune in to the special Facebook live stream online selling event for a chance to win additional vouchers and prizes of up to Php 10,000!

Want to try foodpanda’s pandamart for the first time? Use the voucher code NEWGROCER for Php 100 off on your first order and enjoy convenient online grocery shopping in the comfort of
your home!

Original Article:  https://mb.com.ph/2023/5/22/a-pop-up-store-for-this-on-demand-food-and-grocery-marketplace

Filipino retailers have quickly adopted live selling compared to their peers in the region as a major platform to push their merchandize to the market, according to a leading tech-enabled logistics company.

In its first ever white paper on Live Selling in Southeast Asia (SEA), the country’s leading tech-enabled logistics company Ninja Van Philippines revealed that 47 percent of Filipino sellers conduct sessions daily, versus weekly average in the region.

The white paper introduces Live Selling as one of the up-and-coming SEA e-commerce trends, and shares Live Selling insights collected from over 1,000 Ninja Van’s e-commerce sellers across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, The Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

While still a nascent industry, the company’s white paper showed that nearly one in three surveyed sellers have tried live selling.

Specifically, Ninja Van said that of those who are already live selling, nine in 10 prefer to do it themselves, and only one in 10 tap influencers to do live selling for them. Filipino sellers are among the most prolific live sellers, with 47 percent doing it daily – against a 31 percent regional average.

More Filipinos than their regional counterparts also believe that live selling brings in new business, with 74 percent saying that attracting new customers is a top driver for conducting live selling. A secondary driver would be to increase profit, with 52 percent of Filipino sellers saying live selling is more profitable than just posting items on marketplaces and apps.

“Live selling is an interesting marketing tactic for e-commerce sellers,” said Winston Seow, Chief Marketing and Enablement Officer, Ninja Van Group. “It’s the only tactic that can fast-track shoppers’ purchase journeys from awareness straight to conversion. Live selling also gives e-commerce sellers the ability to build relationships at scale with their shoppers, both new and existing.”

Filipino sellers can spend up to 14 hours weekly conducting live selling sessions, versus a regional average of up to six hours. Most of the early adopters of live selling are from low-involvement product categories such as Fashion, Beauty & Personal Care, Food and Beverages, as well as Home and Living.

While Shopee (27.0%), Facebook (25.5%), and TikTok (22.5%) are ranked as the top three live selling channels, the close margins signal that the champion has yet to emerge in SEA. This could be explained by the fact that on average, the surveyed SEA e-commerce sellers use two channels for Live Selling, presumably to maximize their outreach to live shoppers.

Sellers also use live selling as a means to build deeper connections with consumers. “Live selling allows us to easily and directly engage with our audience who have become regular viewers of our live sessions. We’ve also seen lower product return rates since we have started live selling,” says Nikka Arasa of Suniega Stainless Products Tradings, a stainless product manufacturer based in Nagcarlan, Laguna.

The white paper further explores the challenges of Live Selling, such as keeping Live Shoppers engaged, preparing on-set logistical requirements, as well as sales and post-sales arrangements, while providing recommended solutions.

The Live Selling in SEA white paper reaffirms the Ninja Van Group’s commitment to understanding the ever-changing landscape in order to provide e-commerce sellers with hassle-free delivery solutions.

Ninja Van Philippines plans to conduct their first-ever live seller accelerator program, designed to equip both new and would-be live sellers necessary skills and seed money to bridge their business to live selling platforms.

With its dominance in Southeast Asian e-commerce logistics, the Group continues to nurture an ecosystem that provides value-added services and tools to ensure a seamless experience for shippers and shoppers alike.

Launched in the Philippines in 2016, Ninja Van’s “Todo Hustle, No Hassle” commitment now serves 100% of the Philippine population, and has made it among the fastest-growing tech logistics companies in the country. Today, Ninja Van continues empowering businesses with fast deliveries, excellent service, and innovative logistics solutions.

Ninja Van Philippines operates the groups largest automated sorting facility in its Cabuyao, Laguna hub.

Original Article : https://mb.com.ph/2023/01/17/filipino-retailers-ahead-of-asean-peers-in-live-selling-report/

The government will allow operation at full capacity of business activities in 17 sectors, from mining and construction to film production and pet shops, in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) as part of its efforts to rebuild the Philippine economy, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) announced on Friday.

In his Memorandum Circular No. 20-52, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said there was an increasing need “to provide stability for businesses, restimulate the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and address the growing number of joblessness, poverty, and hunger incidence in the country.”

The new guidelines in the memo will take effect upon the circular’s publication and filing with the University of the Philippines Law Center.

“The DTI is authorized by the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) to adjust operating capacity of businesses,” Lopez said, when asked whether the circular still needed approval.

100% workforce

Aside from mining and quarrying, those that will be allowed to operate with 100 percent of their workforce include financial services other than banks, such as money exchange, insurance, reinsurance and lending companies; legal and accounting; management consultancy; architecture and engineering; technical testing and analysis; scientific and research development; advertising and market research; computer programming, information services and related activities; and publishing and printing services.

In addition to government or construction projects also allowed were film, music and TV production; job recruitment for overseas; “other” services, such as photography, fashion, industrial, graphic and interior design; wholesale and retail trade of vehicles; repair of motor vehicles, including car wash; nonleisure activities in malls and commercial centers; and nonleisure wholesale and retail.

The last category covers hardware stores; clothing and accessories; bookstores and school and office supplies; infant care supplies; pet shops, pet food and pet care supplies; information technology, communications and electronic equipment; flower, jewelry, novelty, antique, perfume shops; toy stores except their playgrounds and amusement areas; music stores; art galleries (selling only); and firearms and ammunition trading.

Lopez said that based on regular monitoring activities conducted by the DTI, the businesses in the new list covered in his memo had not been allowed to fully operate under GCQ but were found “compliant with the minimum public health and safety protocols.”

The DTI also considered the Department of Health’s assessment that it now took longer for the number of COVID-19 cases to double in places under GCQ and that the rate that critical care facilities were being used had decreased.

The DTI will also allow barbershops and salons to operate up to 75-percent capacity but “subject to strict physical distancing.”

Dine-in services at restaurants and fast-food establishments are now allowed at more than 50 percent of capacity also with strict physical distancing.

Dine-in, delivery services

Dine-in as well as delivery services “shall be allowed to operate up to 24 hours a day, as far as practicable, to augment the additional operational requirements and serve the needs of the public, while enhancing income opportunities for workers,” Lopez said.

At the onset of the pandemic, the government, through the IATF, adopted guidelines that classified various industries based on the extent to which business establishments would be allowed to operate under varying grades of community quarantine—enhanced community quarantine (ECQ), modified ECQ, GCQ and modified GCQ.

The Omnibus Guidelines for the Implementation of Community Quarantine listed which industries—or subindustries in agriculture, manufacturing and services—would be allowed to operate at full capacity, partial capacity or not at all.

The industries or economic activities were prioritized and categorized based on whether their output was essential. Thus, establishments engaged in health services were allowed to operate fully even under ECQ. Others not considered essential, such as barbershops and salons, are allowed only partial operation even under GCQ.

The main consideration has been the risk of infection, not the number of people a business employs.

Read original article: https://inqm.news/huvi

For Foreign retailers coming in.

Congress and the executive branch have agreed in principle to lower the minimum paid-up capital for foreign retailers to $300,000 and the minimum per store investment of $300,000 saying this would be attractive enough for foreign investors while protecting small Filipino retailers.

Marikina Representative Stella Quimbo, Board of Investments legal counsel Atty. Elyjean Portoza, and Philippine Competition Commissioner Johannes Bernabe agreed to amend the Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000 during a webinar organized by the American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines.

Under the 20-year old law, the minimum paid-up capital requirement for foreign retailers was pegged at $2.5 million and the minimum investment per store at $830,000.

There have been various pending bills proposing to lower these threshold capital requirements to $200,000 and $150,000.

BOI Counsel Portoza cited the need to adopt the middle ground figures because local retailers are still faced with capability issues to face foreign competition.

Portoza said that having a uniformed $300,000 minimum paid-up requirement and minimum $300,000 investment per store would provide more consistency in its proposed amendments.

Local retailers are also challenged in balancing the production of high-quality goods and competitive pricing.

But setting high capital requirements might discourage the entry of new players in the market.

Nevertheless, she said that the amendments to the investment threshold will encourage the production of high-quality products at a competitive price

Liberalizing domestic retail is also expected to result in the increased flow of capital into the country as an opportunity that would provide them access to needed capital.

It will also promote sound business practices/technological transfers.

On the proposal to include retail e-commerce, the BOI said they have already adopted a policy requiring all those engaged in retail to secure board approval for them to be able to engage in retail online.

For the regulation of the e-commerce platform operator, which is not engaged in retail trade, should not be covered.

The BOI is of the opinion that the retail e-commerce platform operator could be covered by another legislation.

On the proposed review of the minimum paid requirement every 5 years, the BOI said this is just basically institutionalizing automatic review.

But BOI said it might be seen as a very short period and investors might look at it as an unstable policy because investment plans could take longer.

It could discourage investors from fear that policies may change while they are still in the research or implementation stage.

“By the time they are ready to invest there is a possibility, by reason of the provision of this review, rules will change,” she said.

Read original article: https://mb.com.ph/2020/09/12/300000-minimum-investment-approved/

MANILA, Philippines – Single-use plastics will now be banned in all government offices in the country, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

In a statement issued Monday, the DENR said the National Solid Waste Management Commission (NSWMC) has approved Resolution No. 1363, series of 2020, banning “unnecessary” single-use plastics.

It covers national government agencies, local government units, and all other government controlled-offices.

The resolution directs the DENR to “prepare and implement” the ban on single-use plastic products, including cups less than 0.2 millimeter in thickness, drinking straws, coffee stirrers, spoons, forks, and knives.

The ban also covers “labo” or thin and translucent plastic bags, and thin-filmed sando bags lower than 15 microns.

“The NSWMC resolution is a major step to curb the use of single-use plastic items that pollute our waterways, kill marine life and contribute to our country’s increasing solid waste,” Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu, who chairs the NSWMC, said.

The DENR will come up with specific guidelines for the implementation of the plastics ban, which forms part of the government’s “solid waste avoidance and minimization strategy,” according to Cimatu.

DENR Undersecretary for Solid Waste Management and LGUs Concerns Benny Antiporda, meanwhile, defended the NSWMC for initially including only eight single-use plastic items in the ban.

“It was the decision of the NSWMC to come up with a balanced judgment on the use of single-use plastics by taking into consideration that we can only ban those that have available alternatives,” said Antiporda, who is also the alternate NSWMC chair.

He cited Section 29 of Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, which provides that “‘non-environmentally acceptable products shall not be prohibited unless the [NSWMC] first finds that there are alternatives which are available to consumers at no more than 10 percent greater cost than the disposable product.”

The NSWMC is an inter-agency body under the Office of the President mandated to oversee the implementation of solid waste management plans and prescribe policies to achieve the law’s objectives.

It is composed of the DENR, the Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of Trade and Industry.

Its members also include the League of Cities of the Philippines, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Philippine Information Agency, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and representatives from the recycling and manufacturing/packaging sectors.

Read original article: https://www.untvweb.com/news/barangay-tanods-turn-over-philippine-cobra-found-in-vacant-lot-to-denr/