Sari- Sari Stores: Micro- retailing Warriors
@markofthesaints
There are about 700,000 sari-sari
stores scattered across the Philippines today. That’s 90 percent of all retail
outlets in the country.
Humble in size yet built to last, sari- sari stores carry at least a dozen product categories: from
food and beverage to home care, personal care, alcohol and tobacco, telecoms,
medicines, school supplies and more. Majority of them are open everyday, almost
round-the-clock, or an average of 15 hours a day.
GoodThinking Research Inc shares its findings on this fixture
of neighborhoods in “4S Sari- Sari Store Study.” A full service marketing
research firm, GoodThinking studies issues and topics relevant to the current
times and to various industries to provide a better understanding of different
Filipino markets and consumers.
Running a sari-sari store is serious business. More than half
of all store owners rely on it as the family’s main source of income. So they
spend most of their time in the stores, track its progress, and manage sales
and profits industrially.
Sari- sari stores prove to be profitable and helpful in
providing for the family’s needs, according to the study. But beyond the
financial rewards, storeowners find enjoyment in running this simple enterprise
that connects people in the neighborhood. Their enjoyment leads them to hope
for further growth in the business. GoodThinking research identifies six areas
that owners wish to learn more about: profit maximization, store expansion,
customer loyalty, service improvement, financial assistance, and other business
ventures.
There is a great opportunity for brands and companies to
connect with sari-sari store owners by addressing their desire to learn more
about developing the business. In Naga City, a program to transform women
“sari-sari” store owners into better entrepreneurs was launched recently as
part of a worldwide campaign for the economic empowerment of women.
A joint project of Coca-Cola Philippines and Hapinoy
MicroVentures Foundation, the Sari-Sari Store Training and Access to Resources
(STAR) Program, dubbed locally as the Coke-Hapinoy STAR Program, intends to
benefit 1,000 women sari-sari store owners and operators.
To date, the program has touched the lives of more than 20,000
women sari-sari store owners and operators in two cities—Manila and Pasay City—
and nine provinces—Pampanga, Bulacan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Palawan, Negros
Occidental, Cebu, Misamis Oriental and Davao. At the end of the 2013, the program has
expanded to cover 22 cities and provinces nationwide. The STAR Program will aim
to reach 100,000 women sari-sari
store owners and operators by the year 2020.
Sari-sari stores are part of the Filipino way of life.
Supporting the store owners and their business, means nurturing a crucial
marketing touch point. The big companies would ultimately see the impact on
their bottom line, and the impact for the friendly neighborhood sari-sari
store, we see it in the fulfillment of its owners’ hope. - Louie dela Vega (FOCUS)
