PRA, DOT to hold retail ops seminar

MANILA, Philippines - Micro and small retailers in Boracay for the first time will benefit from a training on how to professionally manage and operate their stores for better profitability when the Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) in cooperation with the Department of Tourism (DOT) take the first- ever Store Operations Seminar to Boracay on Feb. 12 at Seawind Resort Hotel.

Now on its second offering, the project – billed as “Lakbay-Turo Para sa Micro-Tourism Enterprise Program,” is a joint project of PRA and DOT to help micro and small retailers improve their businesses.

PRA president Lorenzo “Enchong” C. Formoso, COO of Duty Free Philippines, said the seminar program is part of the public- private efforts to boost the competitiveness of retailers in key tourism sites in the country ahead of the ASEAN economic integration in end- 2015 and in line with the Philippine hosting of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meetings this year.

“This seminar will not only prepare them for the upcoming APEC Summit in the Philippines, but also for the ASEAN economic integration, when a big boom in tourism and retail business is expected.” Formoso emphasized.

For the Boracay leg of the seminar series, retail and human resource expert Francisco T. Dela Cruz Jr. will speak on the topic “Learning the Basic and Essentials of Effective Micro Retail Operations.”

PRA secretary-general Evelyn Balmeo-Salire said micro retail store owners and operators who will attend the seminar will, for the first time, acquire “first-hand knowledge and skills in effectively running their store toward better service, better performance and better profitability.”

“All the basics and essentials of effective store operations, highlighting visual merchandising and customer experience, among others, will be learned from this seminar, which seeks to help transform these retail store owners and operators into modern retail entrepreneurs of global orientation,” Salire explained.

The Lakbay-Turo seminar series was launched last year in Legazpi City in Albay.  The PRA and DOT are now finalizing the details for the next legs of the seminar program which will be held in other key tourism cities in the country. This is open to micro and small retailers, particularly souvenir shops and other tourist-oriented services.

For inquiries on the Lakbay Turo program, contact the DOT regional office in Boracay/Kalibo.  For more information on the APRCE 2015, visit  www.2015APRCEMANILA.com.ph  and www.philretailers.com, or call the PRA secretariat at (02) 6874180, 6874181, 6874985, or email [email protected].