Local consumption up 15%

MANILA, Philippines - Domestic consumption rose by 10 percent to 15 percent this Christmas season, the Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) said.

In an interview at the sidelines of the 14th PRA Awards Wednesday night, PRA president Bernard H. Liu said that there has been an increase in spending this holiday season. He said an even bigger growth in spending was observed for clothing and accessories at 20 percent.

“The retailers have renewed confidence,” Liu said. He explained that the end of the financial crisis has been good for the retailers. Likewise, he said the continued growth in OFW remittance has contributed to the robust spending of local consumers.

At the same time, Liu said that the strong consumer appetite rivals that of the strong consumer confidence experienced in 2007. For the entire year, Liu estimated that the entire industry will grow by 10 percent. Aside from OFW remittance, he said that the elections has also helped boost sales.

For next year, Liu said that they expect to grow by another 10 percent.

Meanwhile, PRA has awarded Ambassador Bienvenido R. Tantoco Sr. the presidential award. Tantoco, who was dubbed as the Father of Luxury Retailing, is only the sixth to receive this award. President Benigno C. Aquino III conferred the award to Tantoco.

“The influence he has had on the industry has been widespread and profound. His Rustan’s has transformed the luxury retail trade,” Mr. Aquino said of Tantoco’s achievements in retail.

The president noted that recent data has shown that Philippine retailing has been a major contributor to the growth of the economy. In the third quarter of the year, the gross value added of the retail subsector posted a 14.1 percent growth.

“As a result, the DTI, which is made up of the retail and wholesale subsectors, posted a double digit growth of almost 12 percent. In short, your entrepreneurship is working wonders for us. We hope to see more of this in the future,” Mr. Aquino said.