It was another evening of pomp and glamour as the Philippine Retailers Association( PRA), gathered and honored the best of the best in Philippine retailing during the 20th Outstanding Filipino Retailers and Shopping centers of the Year Awards night, held recently at the Grand Ballroom of Solaire Resort Hotel.
This year, the PRA awarded 26 outstanding brands and shopping centers who epitomize success in terms of growth and good ethical practices. One of the highlights of the Awards was the presentation of the PRA President’ s Award to Wilcon Depot founder and President William T. Belo who was hailed as the“ Patriarch of Home Building Retail” and the 12th individual to be honored as the PRA President’ s Awardee.
“ Mr. Belo’ s commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction are the primary reasons why Wilcon Depot is continually growing and being patronized by your customers and partners for the last 40 years,” said PRA President Atty. Paul A. Santos in his video message.
Atty. Santos added that the innovations he has introduced through the company have set the standards not only in the home furnishing and construction niche, but in the entire retail industry as well.
Now on its 20th year, the OFR-SCY awards honored 26 winners in 12 categories.
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Awards as the‘ Association Board Member of the Year’ while Salire was the awarded‘ Association Executive-of-the-Year’ in 2015 by the same organization.
They are: Most promising retailer-Sunnies; Outstanding Regional retailers-Cebu Home & Builders( Visayas), Toyota( Mindanao); Specialty retailers-Zenzest( Small), Titan( Medium), South Star Drug( Large), Wilcon Depot( Mega); Fashion Apparel-Onesimus( Medium), Surplus( Large); Food Retailer- Vikings Luxury Buffet( Small); Services-Mont Albo Massage Hut( Small); Supermarket- SM Supermarket; Full Line Department Store-Metro Department Store.
For the Foreign Brand Retailers, winners include: Most Promising Retailer-Herschel; Specialty Retailers-GNC( Medium), Daiso Japan( Large), Toys“ R” Us( Mega); Fashion Apparel-Dorothy Perkins( Medium), Uniqlo( Mega); Fashion Shoes and Bags-Lacoste Footwear( Medium); Food Retailer-Dairy Queen( Large), 7-Eleven( Mega); Home Improvement-Ace Hardware.
The winners of the Shopping Centers of the Year include: The District Imus( Small Category), SM City Naga( Medium Category), and Ayala Center Cebu( Large Category).
Five awardees this year were elevated to the Hall of Fame: Onesimus, Surplus, Vikings Luxury Buffet, Uniqlo, and Ace Hardware. The honor for the Hall of Fame is given to retailers who won the award in two successive years or three times in five years.
Aside from the outstanding retail brands and shopping centers, PRA members who have been recognized in the international retail scene for their remarkable and outstanding
Limjoco is the president of Central Books and CEO of International Franchise Corporation( Philippines) or Francorp, a global franchise consulting company.
She has been with the PRA Board of Directors since 1976 and served as its president for three terms. Regarded as the achievements have also been conferred special awards during the night to include SM Supermalls, SM Prime Holdings, Inc., Ayala Malls, and Megaworld Corporation.
The OFR-SCY is a joint undertaking of the PRA and the Department of Trade and Industry( DTI) since 1997. It aims to encourage Filipino retailers to adopt world-class standards and practices to become globally-competitive. For the last two decades, it has awarded over 200 top Filipino retailers and shopping centers.
“ The positive gains in the retail sector are opportunities for us to further steer forward the economic development in the country by sustaining our good business practices and enhancing on the areas we need to. This way, we gain the trust of our consumers and develop a healthy and competitive industry,” said President Santos during the awarding.
DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez expressed his gratitude for being part of the OFR and encouraged retailers to continue to strive for excellence not only for the sake of awards or recognition, but for the ultimate goal of offering world-class products and services and raise the Filipino flag in the retail arena.
The 20th OFR-SCY was sponsored by The SM Store, Wilcon Depot, The Philippine Star, Business World and Philippine Daily Inquirer.
“ Mother of the Philippine Franchising,” she was also one of the founders and currently the Vice Chairman of the Philippine Franchise Association( PFA).
Salire celebrates her 23 years at the helm of the PRA as its Secretary General this year.