RETAILERS EYE RURAL AREAS FOR EXPANSION

Philippine Retailers Association Cebu chapter president Chester Lim says consumers are now willing to pay for convenience

Large and local retailers are now eyeing rural areas instead of urban locations in their expansion plans.

Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) Cebu president Chester Lim said local traders are willing to bridge the distance to their consumers by putting up branches in the far-flung areas of the provinces.

“Supermarkets, for example, Prince Warehouse, don’t concentrate on the urban areas. They went outside. So that is also something that other retailers have to consider,” he said.

Lim, who heads the Belmont Group, said that with the economic activity of Cebu, busi- nesses should also look for opportunities in other cities and municipalities with high consumer demand.

“People right now are willing to pay for convenience. Meaning, if you are from Dalaguete, and then you just have to travel to get your groceries in Cebu, it’s better to buy products from nearby supermarkets at a higher price instead of paying for the transportation. It’s the same thing,” he said.

He said retailers are branching out to other cities aside from the major ones to tap the market in rural areas.

“That is the trend right now among most of the retailers. For example, in our industry, particularly Wilcon Builders, they’re branching out all over the Philippines. Prince Retail, from Cebu, now they’re 52 stores across the Visayas-Mindanao area,” he said.

With President Rodrigo Duterte’s Build, Build, Build infrastructure program, Lim said even foreign investors are eyeing other locations to put up their businesses.

He said the program to build bridges and roads contributes highly to connectivity that not only caters to consumers but also mobilizes businesses in deliveries and other forms of operations. /