Europe’s top dep’t store chain sends export buyers to Manila

Oct. 5, 2011 - PRLog -- Europe’s top department store chain is sending two of its export buyers to Manila to check out the best that the Philippines can offer.

This was announced by Executive Director Rosvi C. Gaetos of the Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) after a sales mission in Spain where she met with the top executives of El Corte Ingles, Europe’s leading international department store chain.

“El Corte Ingles will send buyers from its offices worldwide to the Manila FAME (Furnishings and Apparel Merchandise Exchange) International for the first time after a very long absence,” said Gaetos who had sent a personal invitation to their chief executive officer.

The acceptance of Gaetos’ personal invitation and El Corte’s decision to send two of its buyers to visit Manla FAME indicate renewed interest in Philippine lifestyle exports.
   
“Their (El Corte’s buyers) forthcoming visit to Manila FAME will practically reestablish relations between this retail giant and our lifestyle export industry,” Gaetos stressed, saying an official invitation to the company’s CEO would soon come from the Philippine ambassador to Spain.

Gaetos also thanked Althea Antonio of the Madrid Office of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry for linking her up with the executives of El Corte Ingles and extending to them her invitation to the Manila FAME.

Slated at the SMX Convention Center on October 16 to 19, Manila FAME is the country’s premier international trade show on lifestyle exports that include design-intensive home and fashion products and accessories made of innovatively-crafted indigenous materials.

Manila FAME serves as the venue for CITEM’s international wholesale marketing and promotion of Philippine creative products.

“These export products stand to gain wide global consumer market exposure through El Corte Ingles, which is bigger than the Galeries Lafayette and Marks & Spencer in Europe,” Gaetos pointed out.

She said El Corte’s home décor manager Jose Campana decided to send two of the company’s buyers to Manila FAME to check out the marketability and reliability of supply of Philippine lifestyle exports.

At the same time, CITEM is tapping Regalo Fama for next year’s Manila FAME.  Regalo Fama is the association of Spanish manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers of gifts and housewares.

“Regalo Fama’s members usually visit the Hong Kong and China fairs in October, thus organizing a buying mission to the Manila FAME October show is too late at this time.  Nonetheless, we can capture their members in the Hong Kong and China October fairs and offer them a visit to Manila FAME.  Regalo Fama general manager Gema Casas Carmona offered to publicize our offer and circulate it to the members as soon as possible,” Gaetos explained.

Similarly, CITEM is pursuing prospects of collaboration with DI-MAD, an association of designers and artists in Madrid, which can help out in making Philippine exports highly marketable to the Spanish market.

Earlier, United Kingdom’s Marks and Spencer, Australia’s Freedom, and USA’s Hallmark Cards, Crate & Barrel, Roost, Kalalou, Leahy Global Resources, Natori Company and Material ConneXion have confirmed their participation in Manila FAME this October.

Expected to join them in Manila FAME are delegates from another 101 foreign firms from Australia, India, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, United States, Spain, Finland, Italy, Sweden, Singapore, Turkey and Vietnam.

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The Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions (CITEM) is an export promotions arm of the Philippine Department of Trade and Industry.