FOUR months after it opened, Cebu’s OTOP store, Ang Tindahang Pinoy, will go national and online this April 20.
Cebu-made products will be displayed and sold in partner outlets in Davao City and Clark, said Asteria Caberte, Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) regional director, yesterday.
An e-marketing website for the store will also be launched on Friday.
“Clark and Davao will be displaying our products so it’s like an exchange. We’d like to make it a one-stop-shop for all our products in the country, including those under our One Town, One Product (OTOP) program,” said Caberte.
The Ang Tindahang Pinoy was originally conceptualized as a mechanism to help exporters and traders tap the influx of tourists so they can find products in an accessible venue.
Caberte said DTI plans to set up more shops in other areas where there is a large number of domestic and foreign travelers.
“We are setting up one store in Bohol. Any place that is rich in tourism, we will try to have a shop there. It will also depend on the capability of our private sector partners like Cebu GTH here in Cebu,” said Caberte.
The national launch of Ang Tindahang Pinoy will be attended by Trade Secretary Gregory Domingo and private sector partners from Davao and Clark.
An online shopping center will also be launched on Friday.
Ramir Bonghanoy, Cebu Gifts, Toys and Houseware Foundation president, and Pet Sepulveda, Cebu GTH marketing manager, said they planned last month to set up an online shop system for the store to tap not only the local walk-in market but those who are abroad.
Aside from the products of the 42 members of GTH Foundation, the store will display products from other OTOP Stores in Clark and Davao.
Since December last year, Caberte said that sales performance in the Cebu store increased four times with an average of about P300,000 in sales every month since March.
“We are very pleased with the outcome which has made us even more confident about our investments,” said Caberte.
DTI usually allocates a one-time subsidy for the store to handle the first three months of operations.
Cebu OTOP Store Ang Tindahang Pinoy got a subsidy of P1 million last year that helped Cebu GTH setup the store in Bridges Town Square along Plaridel Street in Mandaue City.
“Now they’re on their own and I’m happy to say that they’re already earning so much,” said Caberte.
Caberte said the Ang Tindahan organizers are also strengthening ties with the Department of Tourism and Travel operators to promote the store and include them in their itineraries.
The DTI has also tapped the GIZ, a technical agency of the German government, for the production of a video catalog to promote the shop’s products.
“The Product Development and Design Center of the Philippines will also be working on product catalogs and brochures that will be distributed to major hotels, resorts and airports in the country,” said Caberte.