MANILA – Despite the 10-percent to 20-percent increase in the cost of supplies due to inflation surge, homegrown coffee and coffeehouse chain Bo’s Coffee said it does not intend to increase prices.
“Increasing prices is the last thing we do,” Steve Benitez, Bo’s Coffee founder, said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Wednesday night.
“The spending appetite is not hot” for coffee shop goers nowadays, Benitez said, as they would prioritize their budget for basic goods rather than set aside budget on premium coffee.
“We can feel the market slowing down. The spending appetite is not as hot as a year ago or in the last four years. It slowed down. Inflation’s impact (on us) is slower growth,” he lamented.
Benitez said this is happening even when Filipino wage earners have greater disposable income following the cut in personal income taxes under the government’s Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law.
“They may have more money in their pockets but they are afraid to spend it on things like this when prices of basic goods have gone up,” Benitez said in Filipino on the sidelines of “Let’s Talk Business, Pare”.
Inflation rate in August hit its nine-year high at 6.4 percent.
In a statement, the economic managers said inflation last month has gone beyond market expectation.
“We remain steadfast in putting forward and accelerating these measures that will address food prices for all Filipinos,” they said.
“Let’s Talk Business, Pare” was organized by Globe myBusiness, UnionBank GlobalLinker, Entrepreneurs’ Organization, and Let’s Eat Pare. (Kris Crismundo/PNA)
