The country’s retail sector has yet to see the changes promised by the amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000 and the investments the sector expected when the law was enacted in 2022.
Philippine Retailers Association chairman Paul Santos said the anticipated change had not yet happened. “What we’re seeing would be existing foreign retailers already doing business in the Philippines expanding their presence. But according to my knowledge, this has already been planned long before the epidemic but was just postponed,” he said.
He said the PRA believed that investment in Philippine retailing was not just about liberalizing the market, and a big part of the decision had to do with economic motivations.
He said a foreign retailer investing in the Philippines would want to see for himself if the Philippine retail economy and Philippine consumers could support or buy goods and services he was trying to sell.
“So liberalization in and of itself, is not a guarantee that businesses would invest in the Philippine market,” he said. Philippine retailers, however, expect annual retail transactions to hit pre-pandemic growth levels in 2023, as more retailers turn to omni-channel and online platforms to maximize growth potential, while those who are in the virtual marketplace are also trying to set-up physical presence.