PAGASA Pres. Steven T. Cua attended the Senate Hearing on a review of the Philippine Retail Liberalization Act with Senators Aquilino Pimentel III (Chair) and Sherwin Gatchalian under the Committee on Trade, Industry and Entrepreneurship on 28 Aug. 2018.

 

On 26 August 2018, PAGASA’s Directors Robert Go of the Prince Retail Group and Mykel Teodoro of Velamart guested in the weekly tele-radyo program Talk.Shop.Asia at the studios of Inquirer in Makati. They shared the latest developments in food retail with Program Host Rolly Pagaspas and the other guests.

 

PAGASA Pres. Steven T. Cua was invited to join a Seminar on the Phil. Competition Act for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the Phils. on 23 August 2018 at the Lecture Room of the Bocobo Hall of the U.P. Law Center inside its campus. This was organized in cooperation with the Australian National Univ.  Phil. Proj. Team. Hosted by Nicholas Felix L. Ty/Dir.-Institute Of Gov’t. and Law Reform of U.P. and Gwen G. de Vera-Team Leader of ANU-PPT.

 

On 10 August 2018, PAGASA held its 3/Q General Dinner Meeting at Epilogue Japanese/European Cuisine inside S’Maison, Conrad Hotel Complex. Host was i-ripple’s Victor Javier. We invited A.C. Nielsen’s Patrick Cua and Mr. Chi Lam of Bingo Box Beijing to join us at this Affair.

 

 

Day 2 of NRCE 2018 on 10 Aug. 2018 showed some creative speakers from Spain on retailing as well as Amazon’s take on retail of the future. Among PAGASA Officers/Members attending NRCE ’18 are Prince Retail Group’s Robert Go, Candice Megamart’s Edna Ontiveros, Velamart’s Myke Teodoro, San Roque Supermarket’s Dustin Uy and Country Gaisano’s Alexis Gaisano.

 

At the Supermarket Break-Out Session of NRCE 2018 on Day 1, PAGASA was the organizer for the Session with A.C. Nielsen’s Dir. Patrick Cua packing the crowds in. The other speakers were James Cruz for systems and Mr. Chi Lam of Bingo Box, Beijing for operations of the unmanned supermarkets. STC hosted said affair on the afternoon of 9 Aug. 2018.

 

The annual National Retailers Conference and Exhibition (NRCE) held at the SMX on 9-10 Aug. 2018 was well attended. Keynote Speaker for this year is Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat who spoke on retail sales gained via tourists. STC had his photo-op with Wilcon Depot’s Chairman William Bello w/his daughter & Wilcon Pres./CEO Lorainne Bello-Cincochan who gave a talk at said Conference. Mr. Bello was recently awarded the Retailer of the Year Award. STC also visited the exhibits and said hello to the Mutya ng Pilipinas Winners for 2018.

 

On 8 August 2018, the National Price Coordinating Council called for another Meeting to check on supply and prices of basic necessities and prime commodities. Year-to-date inflation up to July 2018 is 4.5%; a bit higher than targeted by the BSP due to a slight devaluation of the Peso, increased cost of raw materials by manufacturers, Inclement weather,  increase in electricity and water rates and increase in jeepney fares.

 

On 2 August 2018, World Food Expo held the first-ever run of the Philippine Sustainable Gastronomy (PSG) congress. Held at the SMX Convention Center, the congress was comprised of different panel discussions that focuses on the importance of food and dining choices as change agents when it comes to the issues of sustainability and climate change adaptation. The Show’s exhibits were displayed both at the SMX and the World Trade Center simultaneously from 1-4 Aug. 2018.