The season that never ends
Published Sep 5, 2018 10:19 am
By Manny Villar
Manny Villar Jr.
Last August 31, many Filipinos waited eagerly for the clock to strike 12 and usher in the so-called “ber” months. This might seem odd to foreigners but here in the Philippines, the advent of the “ber” months — September to December — signals the start of the Christmas season.
Yes, the Philippines has the longest Christmas season in the world. As the calendar turns to September, we start hearing Christmas songs, people start thinking about how they will celebrate Christmas and the New Year, holidays are planned, gift lists are prepared, and families begin budgeting for enormous expenses ahead.
The same is true for retailers. In fact, for those involved in retail, September is too late to prepare for the Christmas season. The best time to prepare for the jolliest of seasons is right after Christmas. This means that for retailers, Christmas has always been here, it never ended.
Christmas is an important — probably the most important — period for retailers. In addition to other holidays and special days like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparent’s Day, it is the busiest and, I suspect, the most profitable time of the year for the retail industry. I imagine this to be true especially to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) looking to hike their full-year results.
In a related matter, China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba has introduced the so-called Singles Day celebration every 11th of November in China and has reaped record profits. In 2017, shoppers spent more than $25 billion (that’s about 1.3 trillion pesos!) beating the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in the United States.
It becomes indispensable for retail owners to position themselves to take advantage of holidays like Christmas. We will begin to see stores with different attention-grabbing window displays. Since every retail stores will compete for a share in Christmas shoppers, it is important for stores to stand out.
I remember in the old days, one of the highly anticipated signals to the start of the holiday season was the Christmas display of Manila COD in Cubao. Started in 1957, the COD department store featured awesome animated window displays to entertain shoppers and passers-by. Filipino families from Metro Manila and even nearby provinces would troop to Cubao on chilly evenings to enjoy the sight.
In New York, holiday windows at department stores like Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Saks Fifth Avenue all draw in crowds of tourists and shoppers alike. Hong Kong’s Times Square and IFC Malls also join in the festivities to usher in the merriest and most profitable season of the year.
And so after the Halloween festivities, retail stores begin decorating their premises with festive Christmas ornaments — some traditional, others more hi-tech. It is part of the strategy to attract the crowds and celebrate the Christmas spirit.
As a retailer there are a million of things you need to prepare for. Are you fully stocked to meet the projected increase in demand? Have you decided to offer Christmas-themed merchandise? A holiday roast coffee perhaps or Christmas baked goodies? Do you think you need additional staff for the Christmas rush? What gimmicks and events can you come up with in order to stay above the competition?
In the Philippines, those in the restaurant business also take advantage of Simbang Gabi or Misa de Gallo in order to provide food for those who brave the early hours of the morning and the cold weather to complete the masses on December 16-24. Retailers also organize bazaars left and right, giving shoppers affordable choices for their Christmas shopping needs.
As far as we are concerned at Vista Land, our malls and our retail line, which includes AllHome one-stop-shop home improvement depot, All Day Supermarket, All Day Convenience Stores, All Toys toy stores, Finds! Finds! Discount Store, Bake my Day bakeshops, and The Coffee Project coffee shops are busy preparing for the Christmas season too.
We are ready for Christmas! Are you?
Manny Villar Jr.
Last August 31, many Filipinos waited eagerly for the clock to strike 12 and usher in the so-called “ber” months. This might seem odd to foreigners but here in the Philippines, the advent of the “ber” months — September to December — signals the start of the Christmas season.
Yes, the Philippines has the longest Christmas season in the world. As the calendar turns to September, we start hearing Christmas songs, people start thinking about how they will celebrate Christmas and the New Year, holidays are planned, gift lists are prepared, and families begin budgeting for enormous expenses ahead.
The same is true for retailers. In fact, for those involved in retail, September is too late to prepare for the Christmas season. The best time to prepare for the jolliest of seasons is right after Christmas. This means that for retailers, Christmas has always been here, it never ended.
Christmas is an important — probably the most important — period for retailers. In addition to other holidays and special days like Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Grandparent’s Day, it is the busiest and, I suspect, the most profitable time of the year for the retail industry. I imagine this to be true especially to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) looking to hike their full-year results.
In a related matter, China’s e-commerce giant Alibaba has introduced the so-called Singles Day celebration every 11th of November in China and has reaped record profits. In 2017, shoppers spent more than $25 billion (that’s about 1.3 trillion pesos!) beating the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in the United States.
It becomes indispensable for retail owners to position themselves to take advantage of holidays like Christmas. We will begin to see stores with different attention-grabbing window displays. Since every retail stores will compete for a share in Christmas shoppers, it is important for stores to stand out.
I remember in the old days, one of the highly anticipated signals to the start of the holiday season was the Christmas display of Manila COD in Cubao. Started in 1957, the COD department store featured awesome animated window displays to entertain shoppers and passers-by. Filipino families from Metro Manila and even nearby provinces would troop to Cubao on chilly evenings to enjoy the sight.
In New York, holiday windows at department stores like Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Saks Fifth Avenue all draw in crowds of tourists and shoppers alike. Hong Kong’s Times Square and IFC Malls also join in the festivities to usher in the merriest and most profitable season of the year.
And so after the Halloween festivities, retail stores begin decorating their premises with festive Christmas ornaments — some traditional, others more hi-tech. It is part of the strategy to attract the crowds and celebrate the Christmas spirit.
As a retailer there are a million of things you need to prepare for. Are you fully stocked to meet the projected increase in demand? Have you decided to offer Christmas-themed merchandise? A holiday roast coffee perhaps or Christmas baked goodies? Do you think you need additional staff for the Christmas rush? What gimmicks and events can you come up with in order to stay above the competition?
In the Philippines, those in the restaurant business also take advantage of Simbang Gabi or Misa de Gallo in order to provide food for those who brave the early hours of the morning and the cold weather to complete the masses on December 16-24. Retailers also organize bazaars left and right, giving shoppers affordable choices for their Christmas shopping needs.
As far as we are concerned at Vista Land, our malls and our retail line, which includes AllHome one-stop-shop home improvement depot, All Day Supermarket, All Day Convenience Stores, All Toys toy stores, Finds! Finds! Discount Store, Bake my Day bakeshops, and The Coffee Project coffee shops are busy preparing for the Christmas season too.
We are ready for Christmas! Are you?