Leveling the playing field
It is said that the world of retail and commerce is as unpredictable as the weather. Indeed, the volatility of consumer trends and tastes is merely the first in a long list of arbitrary factors. This has led to some remarkable success stories that continue to be inspirations: SM started out as a single store in Binondo, Manila (where the initials then stood for “Shoe Mart”), and now the company is a multi-industry conglomerate. I remember Goldilocks when it first opened as a small bakeshop on Pasong Tamo, Makati and now it has become the biggest Filipino-owned bakeshop in the world.
More than luck, of course, these businesses started out with a great idea and the determination to execute it perfectly. They were then able to standardize their supply, delivery, and production procedures, and constantly respond to the needs and wants of the market.
Unfortunately, some businesses and products fall by the wayside at the idea stage. No matter how determined or assiduous some entrepreneurs may be, the resources and technical coordination needed to start a business are sometimes too overwhelming to maintain. In a way, this is a grave injustice, considering how imaginative Filipinos can be when given the proper breaks.
Admittedly, the advent of the Internet and e-commerce has made the process a little bit easier. A number of industry analysts assert that selling and marketing online is the future, but a part of me is still hesitant to accept that. From the stands, I believe that Filipino businesses are predicated on understanding the market and exceptional customer service, which is hard to get a feel for through a computer screen.
This balance between offline customer relationship management and online convenience and reach seems to have inspired one Filipino company to find the perfect solution. LBC Express recently introduced a business suite (aptly) called LBC 360, and it could not have come at a better time. Basically, LBC 360 takes all the logistics, supply-chain, and payment gateway problems away from a business owner, allowing for a hassle-free setup. If the entrepreneur wants the business to be online, LBC 360 can set up everything – and I mean everything, including the digital storefront. If the business is offline, LBC 360 can take care of everything from delivering raw materials, warehousing and repacking, sales and inventory coordination, and all the other steps in between.
I’m sure we all know someone – a painter, a craftsman, a homemade confectionery maker – capable of coming out with unique and/or splendid products, but who lacks the knowledge or capacity to sell them beyond their home or small circle of friends. LBC 360 has now leveled the playing field for them by opening up the entire Philippine market.
But why stop at the Philippines? If LBC 360 can allow a start-up business to instantly behave like a well-oiled commercial enterprise, can you imagine what it can do for established companies? Think about this for a moment: our land mass and resources dwarf that of our neighbor to the north, Taiwan, but their exports were estimated at $305.8 billion last year, while ours was a mere $47.45 billion in the same time frame. If reaching the world was a big challenge before, that no longer seems to apply. As such, it’s a whole new horizon for local companies that have been wanting to go global.
It’s companies like LBC that command the ability to think locally, and act globally that will help pull other Filipino outfits – and in turn the entire country’s economy – up along with them. Indeed, companies that possess a deep understanding of the Philippines and its economic landscape, are the ones in the best position to see how we can showcase the best that the country has to offer.
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A girl who thinks she is beautiful is likely to have a mother who not only thinks she is beautiful, but also feels confident about herself and the things she can do. That such a thing is possible was brought out at a recent celebration sponsored by Dove, a brand that has influenced the lives and looks of women for many decades.
The celebration launched the #WeAreBeautiful Campaign hinged on the insight that how a daughter sees herself is exactly reflective of how a mom views herself. To prove the point, Dove enlisted celebrity moms Maricel Laxa, Christine Jacob and Tin Tin Bersola in a panel discussion on their relationships (happy ones, to be sure) with their daughters. Noted child psychologist Dr. Honey Carandang added her views into the discussion.
The #WeAreBeautiful Campaign” is stage 2 of a Dove project, the first one being #IamBeautiful campaign which was launched December last year. Dove revealed then that only 7 per cent of Filipino women saw themselves as beautiful. As a brand that has been advocating and encouraging women to fully embrace their #RealBeauty since 1957, Dove sought to change this figure by launching the #Iam Beautiful campaign.
The response to the first campaign was “staggering,” Dove promoters found out. In a matter of months, beautiful had taken a shift in paradigm hinged on self-acceptance and self-worth. To date, say the promoters, the movement has reached over one million women declaring their beauty, which in turn sparked public interest and brought to light the need to address the issues and anxieties that girls of all ages face.
The second campaign focuses on adolescent girls and a shift to thinking well about themselves, about accepting that they are beautiful. A locally-commissioned study by Dove showed that two out of three girls feel pressured to look beautiful, as a result of external pressures from peers and friends. Despite this, the same girls are still hopeful about the future. In fact, 81 percent of the respondents till consider their mothers as their role model, which is much higher than the global average of 55 percent.
Dove now inspires moms to join in the movement to inspire young Filipinas to believe they are beautiful. To prove its point, it showed a film entitled “Dove Legacy,” which featured mothers who were asked how they felt about their bodies. The same question was posed to their daughters, and the results were quite surprising. The insecurities of mothers were clearly mirrored by the insecurities that their children have developed. The same goes with what they are happiest about with their body.
The film emphasized the integral role that every mother plays in the formation of her daughter’s perception of herself. Because daughters often mirror their mother’s actions, mothers wield the power to mold their children into confident, empowered women.
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