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Gift Site Targets Overseas Filipinos
by JOEY G. ALARILLA
The Philippine Daily Inquirer
September 04, 2002
View article on Inq7.net

GIFT-GIVING is very much ingrained in the Filipino character. Whatever the occasion, wherever in the world they may be, Filipinos are known for sacrificing their own comfort just to save enough money to send gifts back home to their loved ones.

According to one of founders of Manila-based online retailer Filgifts.com, this Filipino trait is one of the reasons the company focused on catering to the needs of the overseas Filipino community.

"We focused on Filipinos residing overseas as our targetmarket for four main reasons. First, they have better Internet access. Second, they have higher purchasing power. Third, they would benefit most from a website like Filgifts.com. And fourth, they deserve better!" Filgifts.com managing director Gerry Ditching told Global Nation.

Filgifts.com was formed in July 2000. Ditching recounted that he and co-founder Robert Yap brainstormed and agreed to embark on an e-commerce venture. Ditching developed the business model and initially designed the site, together with one programmer.

"When we decided to push through with the venture, dotcom companies were already falling left and right. But we were firm in our belief that outstanding service coupled with high operating and marketing efficiencies, would ensure that we would not go the way of many dotcom firms," he said.

Ditching said that the company is satisfied with its current sales growth. For 2002, their goal is double the site's current membership base and increase product offerings by 50 percent by yearend.

Filgifts.com allows users to choose products from an online catalogue and pay for these items via the Internet. The gifts will then be delivered within the Philippines.

"We know the Filipino market abroad is huge. We haven't even begun to scratch the surface. Our unique selling proposition to this market is: great gifts to the Philippines--quick, easy and inexpensive. Filgifts.com is essentially an alternative gift sending channel. The traditional way is, of course, buying the gift physically and sending it via courier or mail. In these traditional methods, gifts may get to the recipient between four to six weeks, with the risk of damage and pilferage during transit. If they purchase their gifts from Filgifts.com, delivery can be as quick as one day. They may even request to have their gifts delivered on the exact date of the occasion," he said.

Of course, some Filipinos are still wary about buying online, so how does Filgifts.com address this fear?

"We contribute our fair share by consistently giving clients the products and service they expect and more. To ensure clients' privacy and security, we employ VeriSign, a data security package that encrypts sensitive information before these are transmitted. We also do not store any credit card information, which goes directly to our payment gateway service provider.

"We try to earn our clients' trust with every order we fulfill. We take pride in the fact that our clients not only keep coming back, but actually go out of their way to tell friends and relatives about the site. Word of mouth is our main engine for growth," Ditching said.

At present, however, delivery of gifts is limited to locations within the Philippines. Ditching, however, did not discount the possibility that the company might also ship items to other countries in the future.

"We are currently focusing on Philippine deliveries only because freight costs to other countries are very prohibitive. For example, we would not like to sell five-dollar bagoong and charge a 20-dollar freight and handling fee. We are still open to outbound sales but only if we find ways to lower freight costs to acceptable levels," he explained.

Now that we have entered the "ber" months, expect people to start making their gift list and shopping around for items. After all, Christmas is just around the corner--and the Philippines, of course, owns the distinction of celebrating the longest Christmas season.

Then again, for many Filipinos in the Philippines and abroad, every day is a season to give.

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Customer Service e-mail: customerservice@filgifts.com. Telephone: +632 815 1775 
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