Philippine Retailing Magazine Q4 2020 (Digital Edition Only) | Page 7

5 RETAIL NEWS CAPSULE PHILIPPINE RETAILING

H & M explains Philippine impact of global store closures

H & M Philippines Communications & Press Head Dan Mejia admitted in a letter sent to Philstar . com , that while the brand ' s sales in the Philippines has been badly hit by the pandemic , it remains " uncertain " if their local branches will be affected by the closures .
" In the Philippines , although the future remains uncertain and recovery is yet to be in sight with lower foot falls and selling performance as a result of the quarantine measures being implemented by our national and local governments to slow down the spread of COVID-19 , we are still looking at expanding offline and online in the coming years to keep adapting to the demands and changing needs of our customers ," Mejia said .
Although he confirmed reports that H & M is shutting down stores to harness their online shopping efforts , he said that physical stores are still " incredibly important ."
In fact , they have even launched their sister brand Monki in SM Megamall and Mall of Asia this year .
" The store closures mentioned in our nine-month report is part of our continuous store portfolio optimization globally and it differs from market to market . The figure is on an aggregated level and we cannot go into details on concrete numbers or markets at this point . Our physical stores remain incredibly important and we want to ensure that we have the right stores in the right locations . We see that our physical stores and strengthening our online presence complement each other to meet customers ’ needs and give them the experience that they are clearly showing us they want to have ."
( Philippine Star 10 / 08 / 2020 )
Photo from : www . rakuten . today

Pandemic changes consumer behavior

Home improvement , bingeing on branded snacks and even self-gifting during the pandemic , were among the few finds of a consumer behavior study launched recently by Nielsen Philippines .
The Neilsen study also revealed the distinction between the so-called “ insulated shopper ” and “ constrained shopper ”. “ While many will continue to stay at home , the impact will not be equal . There are some opportunities for those who still have the money to spend ,” said John Patrick Cua , managing director of Nielsen ’ s retail intelligence business for Philippines , Vietnam and Myanmar .
The study tagged insulated shoppers as those who managed to retain the job they have with sustained , stable income and with money to spare .
“ They tend to compensate for out-of-house experience with in-house activities like eating , working , entertaining and grooming within their very homes . Compensation for what they miss from the outside are dealt by scaling up in discretionary snacks , treats and beverages and still have spare for personal grooming ,” Cua said .
Constrained shoppers are workers who lost their jobs , those faced with the challenges of compressed income , labor relocation , debt default and those subsisting on the basics with limited or no capability for small luxuries , at all .
The study noted that as the insulated shopper remained cocooned inside the home , there has been a rise in consumption of branded fast-moving consumer goods .
Constrained shoppers who can still afford little luxuries tend to buy small things , but only for their kids .
Cua said the behavioral changes that emerged during the difficult time may stick into the future creating new retail opportunities .
Photo Photo from from
: www : www
. mercurynews . business-standard
. com . com
( Manila Standard , 10 / 15 / 2020 )