Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – Photography and imaging company Fujifilm is looking to sustain its double-digit sales growth in the Philippines as it seeks to revive Filipinos’ fading photo printing habits. In an interview, Fujifilm Philippines assistant to the president and division head for electronic and photo imaging Takuya Maeda told The STAR the company remains bullish on one of its strongest markets in Southeast Asia as reflected by its continued introduction of new products and innovative solutions and concepts. “We are seriously considering expanding the market even though the people’s mindset is  that the printing market is shrinking because of smartphones and digital cameras. Printing market is shrinking and only Fujifilm is thinking of how to grow the market,” Maeda said. Fujifilm in Tokyo pioneered the conversion of traditional photo shops into stores that cater to the new needs and lifestyle demands of customers through the introduction of the Wonder Photo Shop. In its bid to also revolutionize the Filipinos’ photo printing habits similar in Japan, Fujifilm has brought to the Philippines the trendy photography and printing store. To date, Fujifilm has set up three Wonder Photo Shops in the country located at the Ayala-UP Town Center, Nuvali in Laguna and Tacloban. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Filipinos love taking photos but surprisingly, the ratio of keeping the photo is very low. Based on our analysis of the Philippine market, Filipinos print less than Japanese do, not because printing is expensive but because the current process of Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Jetstar, Japan’s biggest low cost carrier, is set to operate direct services from three Japanese cities to Manila starting March as it continues its international expansion. “Manila has great opportunity. There is a big potential for people in Japan to come to the Philippines and there are a lot of Filipinos living in Japan,” Jetstar Japan Co. Ltd chairman and representative director Masaru Kataoka said. Manila will be the third international destination added to Jetstar Japan’s roster after Hong Kong and Taipei last year. The new routes from Narita Airport in Tokyo and Chubu Airport in Nagoya to Manila will offer up to seven direct services a week on March 15 and April 1, respectively. Starting April 7, Jetstar Japan will introduce four new weekly services from Osaka that will complement existing four weekly services schedule provided by its sister airline, Jetstar Asia. With the presence of several LCC carriers, Kataoka said they will keep offering the lowest fares and will set up distribution channels through travel agencies to offer package deals as part of their strategy to handle growing competition among airlines. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Competition is good for customers as well as for us because competing with each other allows customers to have more options on the lowest fares in the market,” he explained. Although no exact plans have been made yet, Kataoka noted that considering new Philippine destinations and secondary hubs is also part of their expansion. “This Read More …

PREPARATIONS for the first tranche of salary increases for government workers are under way at the Budget department, Malacañang announced on Thursday, despite a Congressional impasse on a unified version of the legislation.

ROBUST ECONOMIC growth in 2015 gives the central bank cover to maintain monetary policy settings throughout the first half of the year as rates prove supportive of sustained expansion, DBS Bank said.