My Market Research

I am currently expanding my interest in business (particularly low-capital ventures). The following are some of the business insights I got from my online research.

There has been a significant growth for non-grocery retailers in the country, particularly health and beauty retailers and clothing and footwear retailers. This can be accounted to the increasing consumer sophistication (the growing number of urban middle class), and the growing number of shopping malls.

However, cheaper products from China, Korea and Hong Kong among others prove to be major competitors of the local brands. Not to mention the ever-popular Ukay-ukay.

“With most Filipinos still belonging to lower- to middle-income groups, their low disposable income renders them to still focus their spending on daily necessary items, classified under grocery products. Nevertheless, the rise of non-grocery retailers continued in 2005, although still not strongly enough to unseat the dominance of grocery retailers.” (Source here).

Fast food still leads in consumer foodservice. Of course, Jollibee Foods Corp. immediately comes to mind. We can also notice the growing number of cafés/bars. Still the continued development of shopping malls contributes to the growth of these establishments.

The large population, which is concentrated in the urban areas (specifically Manila, Cebu, Davao, Cagayan de Oro) and the intense economic activity provide franchising opportunities in both food and non-food sectors.

Meanwhile, the Internet has provided numerous business opportunities for local entrepreneurs in the Philippines. As of 2004, Internet users in the country reached 7,820,000, according to Computer Industry Almanac. The wide range of businesses and entrepreneurs are able to generate new revenues and build customer networks through online services.

The telecommunications industry proves to be a very promising sector, particularly the cellular mobile telecom services (CMTS). This is again owing to the country’s rapidly expanding middle class. According to an online source, in 2004, the total number of CMTS subscribers reached 34% or over 30.2 million.

On the agriculture sector, where the Philippine economy is largely based, the stable food crops are rice, corn, and kamote (sweet potatoes). Other key crops include coconuts, fruits and vegetables, sugar, tobacco, and abaca.

(Reposted from my Friendster blog)