At the newly-constructed Novotel at the Araneta Center, the Philippine Retailers Association held its 2/Q General Membership Meeting-cum-Election of Board Members on 28 June 2016.  Guest Speaker for this gathering was Partner of Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Mary Jade T. Roxas-Divinagracia, CFA and she spoke on the latest findings on consumer behavior.  Among which she says that China is leading the way in online purchases given the growth of ownership of smartphones; 40% of Phil. customers still look for service from sales assistants as the biggest factor in determining choice of store to shop in; talent, stock availability and promo personalization are key retail differentiators; and that today’s consumers look to community mainly for exclusive offers and promos, among many other findings.  The PRA voted for its fresh batch of 16 Board Members from 19 candidates who filed their candidacy to run for the Board this year.

 

The Phil. Retailers Assn. (PRA) holds its 2016 Edition of the Retailer of the Year Awards on the eve of 16 June 2016 at the Marriott Grand Ballroom.  PAGASA’s STC was honored to have been invited as one of the presenters for the awards for Specialty Stores (under the small, medium, large & mega- categories) together with Suyen’s (makers of Bench) Tintin Montinola. Among the winners for this year were Urban Athlete, Pet Express and The Travel Club. Winners for all categories posed at the end of the Affair and STC was able to take a shot with this year’s President’s Award for Retailer of the Year (as SME-focused Retailer)> Puregold Group of Retail Establishments’ Chairman Mr. Lucio Co.

 

On the eve of 16 June 2016, PAGASA’s STC thanks PRA’s Secretary-General Ms. Evelyn Balme-Salire for years of cooperation between the PRA and PAGASA resulting in mutual advantages for both organizations.  STC awarded Ms. Salire with a 30th Anniversary Commemorative Coin of the EDSA Revolution minted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). This is in line with the fact that PAGASA was organized immediately after EDSA Revolution; thus, the acronym PAGASA. As such, PAGASA is also celebrating its 30th Year of Service to its Members in particular and Service to the Buying Public in general.

Senior Àlvaro Espejo, Consultancy & Training Manager of OPERA Global Business, a consultancy firm doing a global market study for white hog meat of Spain, visited PAGASA’s office on 16 June 2016 to assess the possibility of selling white hog meat to local supermarkets. Aside from supermarkets, they were looking for options as to where to market fine Spanish tapas and white hog meat given the Philippines’ growing market.