DOT, PRA push for PH shopping festival
IT WILL be a grand sale in the entire country from Oct. 23 to Nov. 8 this year in what is billed as the "Philippine Shopping Festival 2015" where the country's major retailers and mall operators will join forces in a bid to promote the country as the new Asia-Pacific region's shopping Mecca.
The unity shopping festival is an offshoot of the efforts of the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Philippine Retailers Association (PRA). It enjoys the all-out support and participation of the country's 13 giant and small mall operators with branches nationwide.
PRA president Lorenzo C. Formoso, COO of Duty Free Philippines, said they have timed the festival with two big international events the country hosts this year—the Asia-Pacific Retailers Convention and Exhibition (APRCE) 2015 and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders Summit that is preceded by a long series of high-level technical committee and ministerial meetings.
"With the global spotlight on the Philippines, the world will surely be watching (our country)," Formoso emphasized.
PRA chair and APRCE 2015 overall chairman Frederick D. Go, president of Robinsons Recreation Corp., said the Philippine Shopping Festival 2015 is envisioned to become an annual event featuring two weeks of great retail bargains and other promotional activities nationwide.
"Shopping malls and retailers in the Philippines will offer discounts and promos to entice people to shop. The shopping festival will not only benefit the retail and tourism industry but also contribute to other industries like hotels, transportation and etc., which in turn will boost the country's economy," Go added.
Participating in the two-week festival are Duty Free Philippines, Ayala Malls, Araneta Center, Inc., Shangri-la Plaza Corp., Starmall, Robinson Malls, SM Supermalls, Riverbanks Center, Festival Supermall, Megaworld Lifestyle Malls, Ortigas & Co., Greenfield Development Corp., Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall.
The APEC Leaders Summit will be in the first week of November, but its various senior officials and ministerial meetings started back in December last year and are currently in progress. The APRCE, on the other hand, is slated from Oct. 28 to 30 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
APRCE Manila 2015 is expected to attract over 2,000 local and international retailers and industry executives. The expo likewise will be participated in by more than 200 local and foreign exhibitors.
Manila last hosted the APRCE 22 years ago, also through PRA's efforts with support from then President Fidel V. Ramos. It was also under Ramos' term that the country last hosted the APEC Leaders Summit in 1996.
PRA chairman emeritus Samie Lim, chairman of BLIMS Lifestyle Group and Canadian Tourism and Hospitality Institute, and the acknowledged father of Philippine franchising, noted that APRCE will be a venue for foreign retailers who are also looking for possible equity ventures in the Philippines and will see the market first hand.
For inquiries, contact the PRA secretariat at 687-4180, 687-4181, and 687-4985; or email ebbs@philretailers.com and asecgen@philretailers.com; or visit www.2015APRCEMANILA.com.ph and www.philretailers.com.