By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora/PNA
MANILA — The Duty Free Philippines is now offering Filipino brands on its new shopping website in a bid to support local farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises in the Philippines.
“For three decades, Duty Free Philippines is known to be the haven of luxury and imported goods. That is still true but we want to also emphasize the importance of enabling our local entrepreneur,” Duty Free Philippines Corp. (DFPC) Chief Operating Officer Vicente Pelagio Angala said on Wednesday.
According to the DFPC, some 54 local brands, all available in physical Duty Free stores, would be offered in its online store by end of 2019.
To date, homegrown brands present in the DFPC online store are Just Fruit manufactured in Metro Manila; Kick-start Coffee of Silang, Cavite; Malagos Chocalates of Davao; Risa Chocolates of Las Piñas City; Tanay Hills Coffee of Rizal; and VuQo Premium vodka of Caloocan City.
The state-owned corporation launched its online shopping store dutyfreephilippines.ph in December 2018 and started accepting payment via Chinese mobile payment applications WeChat and Alipay.
In a recent interview, Angala expressed optimism that the DFPC will achieve its USD220 million sales target for 2019 with the full use of this online store.
Unlike the regular local online shopping, using the dutyfreephilippines.ph store requires customers’ flight details. The shoppers are allowed to buy up to USD1,000 worth of items 48 hours upon arrival and their items will be prepared for pick-up at the airport.
Meanwhile, overseas Filipino workers and balikbayans can shop up to 15 days from their date of arrival. The shopping privilege is further extended to 30 days during the Christmas season (arrival from November 15 to January 15).
Senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) on the other hand have an extended privilege up to 365 days from the date of arrival.
Under the Tourism Act of 2009, 50 percent of the revenue of Duty Free Philippines is remitted to the Department of Tourism (DOT) for tourism-development projects.
