COVID-19 reshapes business
Adaptability. That is the key word here. We try to adapt and make it into a normal routine of our lives
SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The coronavirus disease pandemic has more than changed our everyday life, it has changed our outlook on life.
We as humans try to adapt to the new normal that has kept most of us safe from the dreaded respiratory disease.
We now wear masks like it was another piece of clothing. Remember those Otakus who were into Japanese animes? They used to wear masks and most of us would stare at them and think how weird they look.
But now, everybody wears a mask. Might not be the same reason as the Otakus, but the idea of wearing one is still the same.
Adaptability. That is the key word here. We try to adapt and make it into a normal routine of our lives.
And yet the pandemic did not only affect our way of living, it also affected some of the businesses. With most retrenching workers and closing due to the lack of demand, there are some who adapted to the situation.
Take for instance Taiwan’s engineering conglomerate MSK Group Work Inc. The company has prospered putting up villas, industrial parks and warehouses to cater to the needs of numerous companies inside the freeport.
Currently, they are building luxury villas at the former APEC Village that once housed presidents from all over the world during the APEC Summit held here in 1996. The company has invested around P2 billion in the plan to create a luxurious condominium project in Subic Bay Freeport.
But with the pandemic, the company has now shifted to procuring machines that make masks. The owners of the Taiwanese company, the Uy brothers, said they have to adapt to the times or lose money due to the pandemic.
The company is a great help to the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) as they donate masks, face shields, PPEs and food for frontliners of the agency.
Instead of waiting for the virus pandemic to end, they grabbed the opportunity to supply the demand for surgical and N95 facemasks in the world.
And this is just one of the big companies that adapted to the COVID-19 pandemic. But how about the micro small medium entrepreneurs in the area?
Well, they, too, have adapted to the situation.
Basketball leagues were a hit in Olongapo City, creating many tailoring shops for basketball uniforms in the area. But this was before the pandemic.
Small companies like W11 owned by retired PBA player Willie Miller, My Shop by Mike Yap, Servant Ads by Sonny and Eric, used to make sports uniforms by the hundreds every month.
But after the Palace issued a directive stopping contact sports during the quarantine period, contact games such as basketball stopped. Along with it is the stoppage of basketball leagues around the area.
For two months, these companies also stopped getting orders for sports jerseys. Until one of them decided to create washable PPEs and either sold or donated them to government agencies.
Aside from the PPEs, they also created personalized washable facemasks that is sold for P50 apiece, with a minimum order of 50 pieces.
Then the competition to place ads on the masks started, with logos of companies printed on them.
Now, these small companies make thousands of masks each month, creating a chain of supply and demand in the area.
The masks are like the basketball jerseys that you see with the logo of their sponsors. Some even have individual markings and names, as the industry for personalized masks thrives during the pandemic.
Yes, people are ingenious when it comes to trying to adapt to the problem. They find ways to find a solution to a problem. They don’t sit around and just wait for the dole out, they will always look for ways to earn money, as a means to adapt to the situation.