... After securing an internet connection one month after the last post.
I am using Sun Cellular's mobile broadband and I tell you, the monthly rate is quite a steal. So far, in my two weeks of using the service, it has been quite consistent. (Unlike their mobile phone service). If you already have an existing Sun Cellular line, you can avail of the service for just Ph 799 a month.
Before I go back to my usual guerilla posts, I'd like to blab about personal observations heh. O.o
These aren't trivial posts though, my ever observant and critical mind could not stop wandering and wondering about the real state of the economy. I used to say that the Philippine economy is a student economy. I forgot to mention that the country is also driven by the mall culture economy.
Last month I went to Robinsons Place Ermita and SM Manila due to the proximity from where I am based. Both were open until midnight on the occasions I went there. It was a pitiful sight. There were only scant shoppers and every shop had the "S" word. I wondered if it was because everyone was at the Mall of Asia or that the economy was that bad.
In any case, I am of the opinion that the mall business has reached saturation point. Apart from that, the growth rate of personal wages will fall behind the rate of expansion of malls. Malls are just snatching away customers from each other. The industry is much like the cellular network industry. While there may still be growth, each provider is just eating away at the share of the next competitor.
More than just wooing customers from the next competitor, each company is also at risk of cannibalizing its own market. Smart has Talk and Text. Globe has Touch Mobile. Their prepaid promotions (text all you can, etc) is used to flank Sun Cellular. Now, Red Mobile is attempting to eat a pie that's already saturated. When one company reports growth while another report losses, you know that the industry has reached saturation point.
Is the Philippines just one big saturated market?
Have you seen the distance between Banco De Oro branches? You should visit Binondo. Along Soler street, you will see not one, not two, but three Banco de Oro branches along the same street! This isn't the best example as some were recently converted Equitable Bank branches. Nonetheless, it makes you wonder if there is any room left for new players in local industries.
Going back to the malls, I wouldn't be surprised if malls compete with each other and decide to have parking rate promos or, better yet, waive parking fees on selected hours just to entice customers to visit their malls. SM alone already has 32 malls if I'm not mistaken. And like the relationship of Jollibee and McDonalds, a Robinsons mall is never far away from SM.
*****
Thank you for patiently waiting for a new post. When you come back here, you'll get more guerilla investing tips. Ciao!
Showing posts with label Guerilla Investing Business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guerilla Investing Business. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The Philippine Economy in a Nutshell
Hello readers, I'm back - not from outer space - but from hectic work. As of 1229AM September 29 Manila time, the US bailout package is still being worked on. Since there's been and there'll be lots of news coverage about it, I won't talk about it anymore.
The first Ber month is about to come to an end, and we're opening the window to the usually festive and ultra consumerism period of the 4th quarter. It's been quite a year so far, both for the investing world and my personal world. I wonder if there'll be some respite and good news, again both for the investing world and my own.
I've been visiting SM Manila for quite a number of times recently and I am just amazed at the number of foot traffic it has - even on weekdays. A majority of those are students. Not surprising considering that there are many colleges within the vicinity of the mall.
That observation made me recall what a friend of mine (a Finance grad) once told me. He told me that the Philippines is basically just a student economy. Business is bad during the summer break, then it picks up when children and young adults hit the schools once more. That's open for debate, but if you think about it, it is a good point.
I don't have specific data on what students spend on these days. Years before though, I was able to encounter a research on where they used their money on. The problem with that piece of research was that it was centered only on drinks and snacks. So it did not show the complete pie of student allowance, but a portion of it. The research sought to pinpoint what brands students bought for their snacks given their limited budgets.
I am also unaware how much is given to children as allowance these days. I remember that when I was still a young boy, I would get about 5.00 or 10.00 a day. (not a week, I'm not that old! haha). But that wasn't everyday as my parents wanted to control how much money I was getting.
Teaching kids about money is an important value that parents most often forget. I think I should talk about that in the future. Going back, I wondered about my friend's comment. He probably based his conclusion on a microcosm of the Nursing students population. The population particularly surrounding the area of Metropolitan Hospital in Sta Cruz Manila.
During the years after 1997, the vicinity of the hospital was a dead area. Even though there were a lots of private schools there, when students are dismissed from classes everyone immediately goes home. 10 years after, the place is alive with students in white uniform - Nursing students. Old commercial areas were renovated into food kiosks and stalls. There was a mini-economy that was created in the area. All because Metropolitan Hospital introduced a Nursing course.
I am amazed by how the wheels of economy work. Money and wealth were created in that area. This was all because of that course offering by the hospital. I just wonder, where did the parents supporting these students with tuition money and allowance, originally spend their money on? The growth in the money supply of the area may have also been spurred by the exponential growth of the OFW remittances. It's definitely the case that not one answer can suffice.
If you want to do business, it's these kinds of opportunities that you must seize. In a future post, I'll talk about investing in the next business wave of the Philippines. Sort of like an Alvin Toffler type of forecasting. But mine is more based upon observation and tons of hindsight. I don't have the benefit of tons of research to make a scientific prediction.
Ciao for now.
**** I guess I have to go back to the bailout issue. My source of inspiration - Warren Buffett, said to the US Congress: Bail out economy or face 'meltdown'.
The first Ber month is about to come to an end, and we're opening the window to the usually festive and ultra consumerism period of the 4th quarter. It's been quite a year so far, both for the investing world and my personal world. I wonder if there'll be some respite and good news, again both for the investing world and my own.
I've been visiting SM Manila for quite a number of times recently and I am just amazed at the number of foot traffic it has - even on weekdays. A majority of those are students. Not surprising considering that there are many colleges within the vicinity of the mall.
That observation made me recall what a friend of mine (a Finance grad) once told me. He told me that the Philippines is basically just a student economy. Business is bad during the summer break, then it picks up when children and young adults hit the schools once more. That's open for debate, but if you think about it, it is a good point.
I don't have specific data on what students spend on these days. Years before though, I was able to encounter a research on where they used their money on. The problem with that piece of research was that it was centered only on drinks and snacks. So it did not show the complete pie of student allowance, but a portion of it. The research sought to pinpoint what brands students bought for their snacks given their limited budgets.
I am also unaware how much is given to children as allowance these days. I remember that when I was still a young boy, I would get about 5.00 or 10.00 a day. (not a week, I'm not that old! haha). But that wasn't everyday as my parents wanted to control how much money I was getting.
Teaching kids about money is an important value that parents most often forget. I think I should talk about that in the future. Going back, I wondered about my friend's comment. He probably based his conclusion on a microcosm of the Nursing students population. The population particularly surrounding the area of Metropolitan Hospital in Sta Cruz Manila.
During the years after 1997, the vicinity of the hospital was a dead area. Even though there were a lots of private schools there, when students are dismissed from classes everyone immediately goes home. 10 years after, the place is alive with students in white uniform - Nursing students. Old commercial areas were renovated into food kiosks and stalls. There was a mini-economy that was created in the area. All because Metropolitan Hospital introduced a Nursing course.
I am amazed by how the wheels of economy work. Money and wealth were created in that area. This was all because of that course offering by the hospital. I just wonder, where did the parents supporting these students with tuition money and allowance, originally spend their money on? The growth in the money supply of the area may have also been spurred by the exponential growth of the OFW remittances. It's definitely the case that not one answer can suffice.
If you want to do business, it's these kinds of opportunities that you must seize. In a future post, I'll talk about investing in the next business wave of the Philippines. Sort of like an Alvin Toffler type of forecasting. But mine is more based upon observation and tons of hindsight. I don't have the benefit of tons of research to make a scientific prediction.
Ciao for now.
**** I guess I have to go back to the bailout issue. My source of inspiration - Warren Buffett, said to the US Congress: Bail out economy or face 'meltdown'.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Tales of the Guerilla Investor: MAFBEX
I bet you thought I wouldn't post an entry this week =P
I was unable to blog yesterday because I was at the MAFBEX in World Trade Center (Pasay City). I went there with a couple of friends to check it out. It's my first time to attend a food and beverage expo (MAFBEX stands for Manila Food and Beverage Expo), so I went in with no expectations. I didn't bring my camera with me, primarily because I went there for myself. I am sure you will see the pictures from press releases anyways.
The Basics
If you brought a car, you have two options - you can park at the old Boom na Boom lot, or you can park inside World Trade Center compound. I don't know the parking rates of Boom na Boom, but for the latter one, it costs 30.00 (I think, hehe. It was my friend who paid for it). It can get muddy when it rains so don't bring white colored vehicles or small cars (pot hole filled parking lot), unless that's the only car you have.
The entrance fee will set you off by Php 50.00 and a list of the exhibitors' directory will cost Php 150.00. I attended an exhibit previously in SMX of the Mall of Asia, the entrance was free, but the exhibitors were not really that exciting (This was the recently concluded Chinese Trade Expo).
There are free seminars, cooking presentations and myriads of foodstuffs you can buy. There are also suppliers, some franchisors, and if you are lucky you may just be able to meet Bobby Andrews (it's the only link with a picture). He has a booth at the last row to the right. I'm not much of a fan of local movie stars but I am happy that these guys - or at least much of them - are wise enough to invest their money in a business.
If you are someone who is inquisitive and have a nose for details, then you will need about 3-4 hours to cover the entire ground. Yes, I finished after that much time. ^^
For the hungry visitors, I didn't check out the prices of the food outside of the exhibit area, I bought my food inside. I ate shawarma with rice. The beef was good, yumyum. I think it cost me about Php 65 to 70. I have some short term memory problems hehe, my apologies. My only gripe is that a cup of gulaman being sold inside costs Php 12.00!
If you are a hotdog or German franks fanatic, then there's Hero, Purefoods and Swift. There's McDo, and Yellow Cab pizza for someone who has higher tastes in food (well relatively anyway).
Enough of the gastronomic finds there. This blog is about finance, not food. I'll leave the food stuff to other blogs who really know what they're talking about with regards to food.
The Good and the Bad
There are a lot of exhibitors and most of them are quality exhibitors. There were some oddities (vis-a-vis the meaning of MAFBEX) because there were about two booths selling apparel. Then there were people selling these huge standing airconditioners. Then there were booths selling health supplements, magazines, credit card memberships, and worse, vacation club memberships.
These vacation clubs entice you by promoting their free raffle. I begged off after an awful experience in the past. Let me recount the ways.
A few years back, I signed up on one such vacation club because of their enticing raffle. After some weeks I was notified that I won the free vacation publicized by the exhibitor. I was excited so I took a day off to claim my prize. Yes, a day off!
When I was there, I was ushered into a huge room filled with about eight tables. I started to think that there was something fishy going on.
I was led into another room that contained a TV and a DVD player. The usher told me to watch the video and that she would be back after about 10 minutes. She turned on the player and the TV and left me inside the room. The video was an infommercial about their resort up in Pangasinan.
After the DVD played its last minute, the usher was back and she then led me back to that huge room. This time, the tables had a booklet placed on top of each of them. The usher then asked me to fill up a short questionnaire, and thus began her long spiel.
The booklet contained a list of hundreds of hotels from around the globe. After about ten minutes, she then asked me sets of questions regarding my vacation habits. After the end of a series of questions, she was puzzled as to my habits, or lack of them. I hated traveling. (I don't see the point to traveling because I don't have excess money. I'm of the opinion that traveling is stressful because of the preparation and the unpacking once you go back home.)
It was after the entire process was finished that I realized that she was selling me timeshares for the hotels accredited with their organization. I politely said no to every selling tactic she had up her sleeve. Finally, she surrendered and just showed me the way to the front desk where I would receive my ticket to a free overnight stay at their Pangasinan resort.
I didn't book it. I hated that they wasted my entire afternoon. I can't say if what they did was legit or not, but one thing is for sure - it wasn't enticing.
Let's go back to the MAFBEX.
It's encouraging that despite the high inflation, high fuel costs, and high entrance fee, people still visited the exhibit. This means that Filipinos are all still looking for ways to earn extra money. The flipside is that most of the visitors who were there (at least yesterday) were students. A huge percentage of that are students from the College of St. Benilde because I think they're one of the co-sponsors.
I for one didn't find much opportunities that I could take advantage of. The exhibitors there were the same exhibitors from another franchising exhibit that I have attended in the past. A friend of mine sent me an SMS during their opening day and told me that it was just the same as last year's MAFBEX. Go figure.
However, if you're a restaurateur who is looking to expand or want to look for suppliers, then the MAFBEX can provide you with some good opportunities. There's a representative booth for HALAL certification. There are about 4-5 kitchen equipment suppliers for those who are looking to open up a restaurant. Then, for those interested to retail coffee, there are plenty of coffee bean sellers to choose from.
I went there with no expectations, but I wanted to have some fresh ideas and new opportunities I could venture into in the food industry. I can't say that I was disappointed, but neither can I say that I was awed in the MAFBEX. My search for a profitable venture continues.
Pay (pun very much intended) a visit and see for yourself. Maybe you can give me a different perspective.
P.S. Please visit my other blog. Thank you. I write just as well as I do here. Hehe.
I was unable to blog yesterday because I was at the MAFBEX in World Trade Center (Pasay City). I went there with a couple of friends to check it out. It's my first time to attend a food and beverage expo (MAFBEX stands for Manila Food and Beverage Expo), so I went in with no expectations. I didn't bring my camera with me, primarily because I went there for myself. I am sure you will see the pictures from press releases anyways.
The Basics
If you brought a car, you have two options - you can park at the old Boom na Boom lot, or you can park inside World Trade Center compound. I don't know the parking rates of Boom na Boom, but for the latter one, it costs 30.00 (I think, hehe. It was my friend who paid for it). It can get muddy when it rains so don't bring white colored vehicles or small cars (pot hole filled parking lot), unless that's the only car you have.
The entrance fee will set you off by Php 50.00 and a list of the exhibitors' directory will cost Php 150.00. I attended an exhibit previously in SMX of the Mall of Asia, the entrance was free, but the exhibitors were not really that exciting (This was the recently concluded Chinese Trade Expo).
There are free seminars, cooking presentations and myriads of foodstuffs you can buy. There are also suppliers, some franchisors, and if you are lucky you may just be able to meet Bobby Andrews (it's the only link with a picture). He has a booth at the last row to the right. I'm not much of a fan of local movie stars but I am happy that these guys - or at least much of them - are wise enough to invest their money in a business.
If you are someone who is inquisitive and have a nose for details, then you will need about 3-4 hours to cover the entire ground. Yes, I finished after that much time. ^^
For the hungry visitors, I didn't check out the prices of the food outside of the exhibit area, I bought my food inside. I ate shawarma with rice. The beef was good, yumyum. I think it cost me about Php 65 to 70. I have some short term memory problems hehe, my apologies. My only gripe is that a cup of gulaman being sold inside costs Php 12.00!
If you are a hotdog or German franks fanatic, then there's Hero, Purefoods and Swift. There's McDo, and Yellow Cab pizza for someone who has higher tastes in food (well relatively anyway).
Enough of the gastronomic finds there. This blog is about finance, not food. I'll leave the food stuff to other blogs who really know what they're talking about with regards to food.
The Good and the Bad
There are a lot of exhibitors and most of them are quality exhibitors. There were some oddities (vis-a-vis the meaning of MAFBEX) because there were about two booths selling apparel. Then there were people selling these huge standing airconditioners. Then there were booths selling health supplements, magazines, credit card memberships, and worse, vacation club memberships.
These vacation clubs entice you by promoting their free raffle. I begged off after an awful experience in the past. Let me recount the ways.
A few years back, I signed up on one such vacation club because of their enticing raffle. After some weeks I was notified that I won the free vacation publicized by the exhibitor. I was excited so I took a day off to claim my prize. Yes, a day off!
When I was there, I was ushered into a huge room filled with about eight tables. I started to think that there was something fishy going on.
I was led into another room that contained a TV and a DVD player. The usher told me to watch the video and that she would be back after about 10 minutes. She turned on the player and the TV and left me inside the room. The video was an infommercial about their resort up in Pangasinan.
After the DVD played its last minute, the usher was back and she then led me back to that huge room. This time, the tables had a booklet placed on top of each of them. The usher then asked me to fill up a short questionnaire, and thus began her long spiel.
The booklet contained a list of hundreds of hotels from around the globe. After about ten minutes, she then asked me sets of questions regarding my vacation habits. After the end of a series of questions, she was puzzled as to my habits, or lack of them. I hated traveling. (I don't see the point to traveling because I don't have excess money. I'm of the opinion that traveling is stressful because of the preparation and the unpacking once you go back home.)
It was after the entire process was finished that I realized that she was selling me timeshares for the hotels accredited with their organization. I politely said no to every selling tactic she had up her sleeve. Finally, she surrendered and just showed me the way to the front desk where I would receive my ticket to a free overnight stay at their Pangasinan resort.
I didn't book it. I hated that they wasted my entire afternoon. I can't say if what they did was legit or not, but one thing is for sure - it wasn't enticing.
Let's go back to the MAFBEX.
It's encouraging that despite the high inflation, high fuel costs, and high entrance fee, people still visited the exhibit. This means that Filipinos are all still looking for ways to earn extra money. The flipside is that most of the visitors who were there (at least yesterday) were students. A huge percentage of that are students from the College of St. Benilde because I think they're one of the co-sponsors.
I for one didn't find much opportunities that I could take advantage of. The exhibitors there were the same exhibitors from another franchising exhibit that I have attended in the past. A friend of mine sent me an SMS during their opening day and told me that it was just the same as last year's MAFBEX. Go figure.
However, if you're a restaurateur who is looking to expand or want to look for suppliers, then the MAFBEX can provide you with some good opportunities. There's a representative booth for HALAL certification. There are about 4-5 kitchen equipment suppliers for those who are looking to open up a restaurant. Then, for those interested to retail coffee, there are plenty of coffee bean sellers to choose from.
I went there with no expectations, but I wanted to have some fresh ideas and new opportunities I could venture into in the food industry. I can't say that I was disappointed, but neither can I say that I was awed in the MAFBEX. My search for a profitable venture continues.
Pay (pun very much intended) a visit and see for yourself. Maybe you can give me a different perspective.
P.S. Please visit my other blog. Thank you. I write just as well as I do here. Hehe.
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