MANILA, Philippines -- Information technology continues to be a powerful marketing medium that finds new converts everyday. It should then be no surprise that feng shui, an ancient Chinese practice that divines life forces and has survived more than 3,500 years, would find in this modern-age technology a staunch ally.

In the Philippines, WOFS Philippines, Inc. found the Internet, webcasts, netcasts, television, text messaging, and even e-commerce as essential tools in bringing across its messages of prosperity and luck, which in turn has brought wealth and good fortune to the local business.

WOFS (for World of Feng Shui) Philippines is the local franchise of the global WOFS of Malaysia, which is chaired by feng shui celebrity Lillian Too, author of over a hundred books that has been translated in 45 languages and sold to over 10 million readers worldwide.

In 1998, WOFS started WOFS.com, reputedly the first online feng shui magazine that has now grown into an extensive portal resource offering easy to read and understand articles on feng shui. The website, according to WOFS Philippines franchise owner Marites Allen, receives around two million hits a month.

The immense popularity that the website enjoys is reflected in the phenomenal growth of the WOFS network worldwide, which includes specialized boutiques in over 19 countries, and thousands of feng shui-related products and publications.

In the Philippines, Marites opened her first WOFS shop last November 2004 at the ground floor of the Podium in Ortigas. “Since then, our 57-square meter boutique has achieved a substantial record of sales and attracted many thousands of feng shui followers into the Podium.

“In fact, we actually hold the record for achieving the highest daily sales per square meter of floor area ever at the Podium during this year,” Marites says. The local franchise has added six more, located at SM Mall of Asia, The Block at SM City North EDSA, SM City Cebu, Serendra, Glorietta IV and New Manila.

The fast growth of WOFS in the Philippines, though, is the result of meticulous planning and painstaking preparation that includes almost non-stop work especially when the Chinese New Year is coming.

Formerly chief executive of a Manila-based call center, Marites says she barely knew anything about the retailing business, an essential element in spreading the gospel of feng shui.

Her first boutique was a sort of hobby to help people find what they needed when heeding feng shui readings. “At first, stocks I bought that I thought would be good for six months would all be bought in four weeks,” says Marites. This made her give the retail shop business more serious study.

As a franchise of WOFS of Malaysia, the boutiques are far from any run-of-the-mill feng shui shop. “Regardless of the presence of hundreds of different feng shui shops around competing with us at the shopping malls or at China Town, I believe we have some products such as Almanac, LT Horoscope, etc., that can only be bought at our shop,” she says.

Lillian Too, former chairman of the Hong Kong-based Dao Heng Bank, has taken pains to develop products that would stand out. Pendants or rings, for example, are finely crafted jewelry usually in 18-karat gold decked with diamonds or semi-precious stones.

Marites has also tapped National Bookstore, all of its 108 branches all over the country, in selling feng shui books. She says some of the WOFS Chinese New Year books sell so well, that “in effect, I give up quite a large number of commissions to them.”

The books’ presence in the nationwide chain of bookstores, though, helps create more awareness of feng shui. “In a way, they do the effort of marketing the product for me in the places or cities we can’t reach,” says Marites.

During the lean months, before and after the Chinese New Year, WOFS Philippines works doubly hard to keep interest and patronage alive. “Every June to November, I conduct a free consultation every beginning of the month per boutique so people come,” Marites says.

“For example, I have a session on how to create a wealth vase. I not only sell a wealth vase kit, I also get to sell the other things that would go inside the wealth vase like the crystal diamonds, etc.,” she says.

In preparing for the ghost month of August, for example, WOFS with the SM Malls lined up several talks. Marites also uses her columns and television show to discuss what (and what not) to do during the month. The franchisee also uses the netcast facility of a telecommunications provider as well as a marketing company to send out e-mails, SMS based on e-mails, and website announcements.

Discounts are also a valuable marketing tool. The WOFS mid-year sale inventory gives as high as a 50-percent discount to the buyers, for example, on any Almanac unsold after May 2008. “We also tie it up with another saleable product, like an ang pao coin or something,” Marites says.

WOFS has also a tie up with a credit card company all year round. If they use the credit card, clients get an automatic 10 percent discount.

During special days like Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, or even opening school day, the WOFS marketing team and operations come up with recommended gift list. “Say for Father’s Day, they have a ruyi at a reduced price tied up with a fast moving item,” the WOFS proprietor says.

Marites also introduced www.maritesallen.com, her personality website, to complement WOFS.com. “We shall soon be launching too the Philippine e-commerce side of the business, www.mywealthluck.com,” the energetic WOFS Philippines chief executive says.

“I have also invested quite a lot on the Marites Allen show, where people write to me and I give them free advice,” she says. The response has been phenomenal, especially among Filipinos working overseas. For Marites, this is a chance for viewers to know where to find her shops and get more advice, which in turn creates “more chances to sell our products.”

WOFS has also a tie up with Smart Communications to carry a daily SMS astrology. This is another chance to advertise the WOFS brand, Marites says. She has also introduced a loyalty program and an annual extravaganza “where I give forecasts on what to expect and how to prepare ourselves, and an update of feng shui for our homes, offices, buildings, etc. for the coming Chinese New Year.

“This is definitely the busiest time of the year, and in fact even if you don’t do any marketing campaigns during this time, people will just flood our stores and flood us with inquiries,” she says.

For Marites, her belief in feng shui had led her on a road she had least expected to pursue. After several personal misfortunes in her early 20s while in Lahug in the southern island of Mactan, Cebu, she had consulted her feng shui and moved to Manila.

After meeting Lillian Too in Honolulu while on vacation in February of 2004, Marites was invited to visit her in Malaysia. Then, when Lillian asked her whether she would care to build the WOFS franchise in the Philippines, she happily agreed. The rest is history.