Memorial estate industry remains largely untapped

CEBU, Philippines - Even with the sales growth reported every year, an estate developer specializing in private memorial parks said that there is still an untapped market in the industry, creating a greater demand for players to cater to.

Legacy Plains Developers Corporation Chief Executive Officer Amabelle Selma- Cañedo said that there is an average increase of 15 – 20% lots sold annually.

She further noted that for 2012, a 57% sales increase was recorded compared to last year. 

She added that the emergent market due to population increase and influx of migrants coming into the locality primarily contributes to the growth of income of the business.

There is also an indirect effect, she said, coming from the improvement of the social statuses of the people with the presence of various employment opportunities, thus increasing their purchasing power for private memorial units.

“All of these factors improve the marketability of our products. There is still a big untapped market which causes a wide gap with the supply from developers. Definitely there would be more presence in the community for us particularly in growing towns and municipalities,” she stated.

Marking its 10 years in the industry, LPDC recently unveiled its new logo and slogan which marks how far the company had gone and how far it aims to go further.

“Over the years, we have several different kinds of representation. We already have four project logos but nothing really represents the company as a whole. The new logo serves as an insignia that will represent the direction of the business, a unifying faith of all our developments,” Cañedo said.

She added that the company banks on the affordability, accessibility and personalized integrated services in reaching out to provide structural legacy for the residents of the localities of metro Cebu.

Moreover, LPDC intends to equalize sectors in the society by boosting the morale of the people in the country side particularly the low and middle income segments that they could also afford to invest in a private memorial park which is a status symbol known for the high-end market.

According to Cañedo, the company will be more visible to the market since they would adopt a more community-oriented approach in its information and marketing campaign.

LPDC currently has four memorial parks situated in Minglanilla, Naga, Toledo and Moalboal, offering various inventories such as lawn lots, garden lots, court estates, ossuaries and community vaults. Grace  (FREEMAN)