Go Lokal! for Mom

If you are looking for a gift to make a legion of mothers happy, not just your own, then consider heading down to a Go Lokal! outlet and choose from a growing array of proudly Philippine-made products with quality, unique designs and stories to tell.

From food items to accessories and handicrafts, Go Lokal! has much to offer and every purchase brings the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) closer to achieving its goal of helping micro, small and medium scale enterprises break into the mainstream and thus increase sales and market share by providing them a free venue where they can showcase their products.

Through Go Lokal!, these MSMEs from around the country can test the marketability of their products without incurring the high cost of operating a retail outlet, according to Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez.

Lopez, who was executive director of the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship before accepting the trade and industry portfolio in 2016, spearheaded the Go Lokal! concept store project described as “modern, cool and 100% Filipino.”

It was conceptualized in December 2016 and rolled out in time for the country’s hosting of the Asean Summit 2017.

DTI has since collaborated with retail partners such as SM Kultura, Ayala Malls, CityMalls, Rustan’s Supercenters, Shopwise, Robinsons, Duty Free Philippines, and Enchanted Kingdom, and e-commerce platforms Marketa Philippines and Shopinas.

As of the end of March this year, 50 Go Lokal! retail stores were opened and 315 suppliers have been assisted, from getting space to sell their products to product development training in partnership with the Design Center of the Philippines and its contracted product specialists/designers to help make their products suitable for the retail, export and souvenir markets.

These accredited suppliers or retail partners with products deemed to have good market potential here and abroad likewise got free mentoring from top retail gurus and training/seminars through the Philippine Trade Training Center.

So far, DTI data show that the suppliers have been able to generate a combined P23.41 million in sales through the Go Lokal! outlets.

Sales through the brick and mortar stores have been encouraging but realizing that e-commerce is a force to reckon with, steps are being undertaken this year to intensify online marketing strategies to attract potential buyers from overseas and reach out to those beyond the scope of the current network of Go Lokal! retail stores.

Plans are also in place to open more Go Lokal! stores this year—@Kiss and Fly, NAIA Terminal 3, @Duty Free PH Terminal 3, Subic, Zambales, and in the cities of Davao and Cebu, —and have a pop-up Go Lokal! exhibit in Tokyo this year and then in San Francisco in 2019.

At the same time, the DTI is inviting more MSMEs to become a Go Lokal! supplier.

If they are a manufacturer of high quality and innovative products; offer new and never-been-seen products; in need of business exposure and willing to develop a new collection or product line, then they can apply to be part of the program. Visit www.golokal.dti.gov.ph for details.

Registration forms for interested suppliers or partners may be downloaded from the site.