BIZ BUZZ: Riding the holiday rush
It’s a much-anticipated season for most, yet a much-dreaded period for some, thanks to the holiday rush. Malls are packed; traffic is painful to sit through; and, let’s be honest—it’s an expensive time of the year.
Good or bad, it is this holiday rush that the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is betting on with its Christmas trade fair, which brings together about 300 merchants selling homegrown products at the height of the holiday shopping surge.
This fair, dubbed a “Christmas village,” is not the DTI’s first, but it is eyed to be one of the more lucrative ones yet. Sales are projected to reach P200 million over six days, a step up from previous editions that regularly cleared the P100-million mark.
Shoppers can browse across a wide range of products, including food, leather goods, handwoven textiles and gift items.
Trade Secretary Cristina Roque said the goal is to provide local businesses with greater exposure during what is typically the busiest shopping period of the year.
Timing is crucial in achieving this. The fair opened on Dec. 23, widely considered the peak of holiday spending among Filipinos, and will run until Dec. 28, when many shoppers are already holding some extra cash, likely from their aguinaldo.
So once that aguinaldo comes in, a stop at SM Megamall might be worth considering, especially for those looking to support local enterprises this Christmas. —Logan Kal-El M. Zapanta INQ
