Creativity, innovation: Key to survive a crisis

With the anticipated slowdown of the country’s retail industry this year due to a looming global financial crisis, entrepreneurs are now encouraged to think of innovative ideas and workable concepts that can capture the market.

“Customers are now looking at how they can efficiently spend their hard-earned money. Due to the crisis, perceived value is very important so you should be able to innovate your services and products that will fit the needs of the market,” urged Chris Tio, a board director of the Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) - Cebu Chapter.

He said that the recent crisis may bring in several challenges but it will also provide unique opportunities for retailers and entrepreneurs to present new ideas to the discerning market with a shrinking disposable income.

“There are more chances now for creativity and innovation to stand out because these measures are even more critical in a crisis,” added Tio.

He stressed that at these tough times, capturing the imagination and the needs of customers is very important.

“If you won’t try to capture these needs, others will; so you should always strive to be innovative and creative. It is great to do innovations during crisis when the giants are resting or in a slowdown phase because big companies are not as prone to react as quickly, unlike smaller players that can easily explore and adjust to the market” he said.

He also advised that in order for new retail businesses to succeed, entrepreneurs should strive to explore the gaps in the market and then try to provide something new that is not yet offered by existing competition.

“There are still many gaps that have not yet been explored in the market. Opportunities exist in the absence of a particular service, niche, or product,” he pointed out.

Tio is also the president of Eyepad Vision Corp., the company behind concept optical boutiques called Eyebar at The Walk at the Asiatown IT Park, Lahug and the new kid’s optical shop called Eyes Candy, located at the third level of the Ayala Center Cebu.

He shared that these new retail ventures are the results of their observation of the market after seeing that traditional eye clinics only offer very traditional products and services to their clients.

Eyebar has already won praises and acknowledgements for reinventing the image of a traditional optical clinic into a modern lifestyle showcase for the young, trendy and fashionable while in the case of Eyes Candy, the company attempts to tap into a new consumer segment that is not yet been fully tapped---the children’s market.

“The shop is very specialized and it carries a wide selection of eyewear for children. A lot of optical shops in the city do not carry the sizes and brands of frames that children really need or want. We are innovating and investing in optical because eyewear is an essential necessity, it doesn’t mean that since there is a crisis, you will not buy even if you really need one,” he said.

And since product presentation is very important to capture potential customers, Tio said that Eyes Candy was made to look like a toy store to lure kids of all ages and it even has a Nintendo Wii to amuse customers as the play component of the shop is very critical to encourage kids who are usually scared to have an eye exam

“Retail stores are like people with different personalities so it’s very important for your brand to develop a particular personality because that’s how it will capture the interest and imagination of the consumer. Eyes Candy has a personality of fun mixed with public service. We pride ourselves in the fact that we have helped out many parents and children because children are now more prone to developing eye problems with the number of electronic devices that they are exposed to,” he said.

With the innovative ideas of Tio’s concept shops, they have already received several invitations to operate store spaces in major malls in Manila and currently they are negotiating deals to expand Eyebar and Eyes Can