(First of two parts)
MANILA, Philippines--THE YEAR 2007 saw several highs in the local economy—highest OFW (overseas Filipino workers) remittances at $13.1 billion as of end-November; all-time high gross international reserves at $32.4 billion as of end-October and balance of payments surplus of $8.6 billion as of the end of December.
The figures basically spell money flowed into the country.
Many of course will argue that despite all this cash, the poor have become poorer; and the rich became richer.
One way to ascertain this is to check what were in the shopping bags of Filipinos last year. This is the third year BusinessMonday has been compiling this list and as in the past, the results are interesting. (The list are based on top-selling items in terms of volume sold.)
For food items, Yakult, Lucky Me noodles and chicken are consistently on the top 10 list.
For the nonfood list, it seems soap—for the laundry and for the body—was the bestseller.
For nonessentials, color TVs were the most in demand items by Filipinos, largely because TV viewing remains the Filipinos’ favorite pastime, what with a survey showing Filipinos spend over 10 hours a week watching television. And for Filipinos—the bigger TV set, the better.
THE BASICS
Shopwise
“THE SAME pattern seems to apply for both the food and nonfood categories when looking at the list we submitted in 2006. For food, we noted that bestsellers are still dominated by the snacks and beverages category. I think we really do have a snack culture in the Philippines. In 2006, we talked about the Filipino’s penchant to snack in-between meals. Add to this, the snack culture represents instant gratification, affordability, ease and convenience.
In terms of the nonfood category, the skin whitening trend does not seem to be waning. Likas Papaya whitening soap was the top-selling item for the nonfood category. This brand is also quite affordable so it attracts a broader base of buyers. Interestingly, the second top selling item is Olay Total Effects, which also falls in the facial care category. However, this brand tends to have a more upscale following. That these two brands represent the top two selling items in nonfood shows that our stores cater to a broad base of customers from the middle and upper segments of the population. It also emphasizes the trend we noted in 2006 about the preoccupation of the Filipino consumer with beauty and enhancing/maximizing looks,” says Frances Yu, marketing manager of Rustan Supercenters Inc., owners of Shopwise
I. Food and beverage
1. Lucky Me instant noodles
2. Yakult cultured milk
3. Tetra packs ready-to-drink juices (Zesto, Big)
4. Shopwise bakery items (SW Pandesal
and Mini Ensaymada)
5. Gardenia loaf breads
6. Soda (Coca-Cola products, especially Coke Light)
7. Tea drinks such as C2
8. Chocolate milk (Nestlé Chuckie)
9. Century Tuna variants
10. Gourmet snacks and multi grain chips
(Oishi and Nova)
II. For nonfood category:
1. Tide Bar laundry soap
2. Surf laundry detergent
3. Creamsilk conditioner
4. Modess sanitary napkins 5. Close-up toothpaste
6. Joy Liquid dishwashing soap
7. Downy fabric softeners
8. Safeguard bath soap
9. Ponds facial care
10. Eveready batteries
Robinsons Supermarkets
I. Food
1. Milo Actigen
2. Lucky Me pancit canton
3. Maggi Magic Sarap seasoning
4. Yakult cultured milk
5. Coke
6. Zesto juice drinks
7. C2 green tea
8. Nestea Iced Tea Lemon
9. Jack & Jill chips
10. Fresh whole chicken
“The food category is actually dominated by health drinks (i.e. Milo, Yakult, C2, Nestea) which actually reflects the growing preference of people for such items. While Coke is actually a dominant carbonated brand, more and more people are now shifting to “healthier” alternatives. That is why Coke, having seen this trend gather momentum, is now launching aggressively their Coke Zero, a sugarless variant but with the same flavor as their popular regular variant. The rest of those in the Top 10 are regular recurring favorites—Lucky Me noodles and Jack n Jill snacks,” states Jody Gadia, general manager of Robinsons Supermarket.
II. Nonfood
1. Tide Nature Fresh bar
2. Safeguard soap
3. Ponds White Balance Detox cream
4. Likas Papaya soap
5. Modess sanitary pads
6. Ariel Ultra Downy
7. Colgate
8. EQ diapers
9. Surf dishwashing liquid
10. Belo soap/beauty essentials
“Most of the Top 10 in the nonfood category are actually regular brand favorites which introduced value-for-money packs. Winners for 2007 also were whitening products notably the newly launched Belo beauty essentials,” Gadia says.
Rustan’s Supermarkets top sellers
Food items:
•Fresh fruits—Crimson seedless grapes (USA) and Driscoll’s
•Strawberry 454g/pck
•Rustans Fresh whole chicken
•Pork produce (pork belly, ground pork)
•Spam Luncheon Meat-Lite 12oz
•Floridas Natural Premium Orange
•Johnnie Walker Black Label 1L
•Pringles Original 14/7oz.
•Gatorade Tropical Fruit24/500ml
•Ben and Jerry’s Vanilla (RS)
•Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Nonfood Items:
•Evian Brumisateur
•Bay-O-pet antiflea powder
•Edison pet food (rabbit food, bird seed)
•Loreal SL fixing spray
•Olay Total Effects Gentle UV 50g
•BF Creme bath wild apple
•St. Ives collagen lotion
•Oral B indicator comfort soft toothbrush
•Angel’s Love cologne
•BigenSpeedy HColor/MedBrwn/40g
•Peni fresh soap
Abenson’s top sellers
Luxury items
1. Apple iPod Touch
2 32” to 40” LCD TV
3. Sony digital camera
4. Samsung Slimfit TV
5. Magic Sing microphone
6. Split-type air-con
7. Two- door refrigerator, no frost
Abenson’s president Winston Lim provides insights on their top sellers:
On the Apple iPod Touch / Apple nano video: “Gadgets are becoming part of fashion. Just like fashion, people change and upgrade their gadgets just like the changes in fashion seasons ... iPod Touch is a fashion statement as it looks like the iPhone but with MP3 function only. Ipod nano is a ‘cool’ gadget—small , stylish that is used for both MP3s and videos.
On the LCD TVs : “LCD is replacing bigger sized (29” up) Cathode Ray Tube (Glass) TVs already. Price is very similar—P39,000 for branded LCD TVs thus more reason to switch. People are finally yearning for something new from the TV. We’ve had the same Cathode ray tube TV for over three decades now... it is now time to change. Filipinos adapt to these changes really fast.. relative to our neighboring countries... End of day... it is very stylish too. An affordable luxury so to speak.”
Sony digital camera: Sony has come with a lot of innovations for cameras. Higher resolutions. The latest is the smile shutter—where it automatically takes a shot when the subject smiles. It is interesting how a camera turned from a household property to a personal gadget. During the times of analog cameras one cam per household would suffice but now people own their own digicam... the innovations in quality, the decline in price, the attractive credit card promotions plus the individuality of the product makes it one of the top gadgets of 2007.
Samsung Slimfit TV: For those who still want a smaller CRT TV (21” to 29”), people are going for the slim type to fit in smaller condos or houses without compromising the picture quality of the video.
Split type air-con: Split type is becoming a need due to better aesthetics, noise reduction and climate control. Most new homes, condos and offices are choosing split type air-conditioning. Installation is much cheaper and more convenient now.
Two-door refrigerator, no frost: People have less time to shop. So they are opting for bigger sized refs to store more. Also, the convenience of not having to clean the ref (no-frost) is more appreciated.
In Abenson alone, FIlipinos bought about P65 million worth of Wow Magic Sing. As Lim says, “A bestseller among OFWs and if the kids have their Wii—Filipino adults have their Magic Sing. A big, big seller among Pinoys.”
SM Appliance Center
1. Colored TVs
2. LCDs
3. Refregierators
4. Air-conditioners
5. Washing machines
6. Small kitchen appliances
7. Fans
8. Ranges
9. DVDs
10. Stoves
Louis Vuitton
1. Speedy
2. Batignolles
3. Neverfull
Gucci
1. New Britt Medium Hobo
2. Abbey shoulder bag
3. Princy medium tote bag
Canon
1. EOS 400D
2. Powershot A460
3. Ixus 70
4. Ixus 75
5. Pixma iP1880
6. Pixma MP145
SEMI-ESSENTIALS
Abea (Abenson’s furniture shop)
Zen – bedroom sets
Contemporary – living room sofas
“Clean lines and minimalist designs are what people are looking for. These are our best selling design collection for furniture.” says Lim.
Shopwise’s bestsellers in home and general merchandise
1. Panda writing instruments
2. Electric stoves
3. Packaging tapes
4. Flatware (spoons and fork)
5. Hot Wheels toy cars
6. Food keepers
7. Sundry face towels
8. Placemats
9. Electric fans
10. Assorted candles
Toys R’ Us bestsellers
Rubik’s Cube
Transformers
Barbie “Rosella” Island Princess
Road Builder
Nintendo Wii assorted games
Nintendo Wii console
PSP Slim
Doll house
You & Me
Lounging Elmo
SM
DEPT. STORE TOP SELLERS
1. Jeans: Red Jeans
Denim Blues
Baleno
2. Knitted shirts:
Men’s—M-Tops, Men’s Club
Ladies wear dept: DC Classics
3. Flip flops: Planet, Toeberries
4. Sports shoes: Kobe, Sonics, US Master
5. Ladies inner wear: Gigi Amore, B-Club
6. Bed linens: Ultima, Canadian, Akemi, Family Home
7. Interactive computer games: Sony PSP, Nintendo DS Lite, Gameboy Advance, Nintendo Wii, PlayStation 3
8. Snack food: Ferrero, Cadbury, Samba, Swiss Delice, Hersheys
9. Infants accessories: Kids Rider, Looney Tunes crib playpen, Looney Tunes stroller, Pigeon electric sterilizer, Pigeon feeding bottles
SM’s Sports Central’s Christmas bestsellers
1. Converse Chuck Taylor All Star hi cut
2., Converse Chuck Taylor All Star low cut
3. Sandugo all terrain slippers
4. Sandugo BCH 308 sandals
5. Accel PBA replica Jerseys Ginebra/Mark Caguioa
6. Sandugo surf slippers
7. Nike Air UPS basketball shoes
8. Sandugo BCH 314 ethnic slippers
9. Adidas Gil Zero basketball shoes
10. Nike Get a Sandal slippers
“The trend in canvass classics like the Chuck Taylors, continue with the young ones. The Filipino’s passion for basketball is still strong, with Ginebra’s jersey of Mark Caguioa landing fifth. Adidas’ Gil Zero and Nike’s UPS, both basketball shoes, also landed top 7 and 9. All the others are slippers, which shows that we are still a country that loves slippers/sandals i.e. flip flops,” says Philip R. Go, VP-operations, Sports Central
Robinsons Department Store
Whatever statement tees (for ladies) / Portside vintage shirts for men
(Exclusive RDS’ labels)
Julia tunic tops
Crissa skinny jeans
G Company girl’s shorts and sando set / B+Active boys sando and shorts set
Candy bubble dresses
Ego cargo shorts
Timex Expedition watches (file name: men’s 1)
Bubblegum tumbler gift pack
Barbie girl’s wedge sandals
Ever Bilena cosmetics
Havaianas
1. High collection—300,000 pairs
2. Slim—250,000 pairs
3. Surf—150,000 pairs
4. Top—125,000 pairs
5. Brasil—75,000 pairs
