DTI and SM urge Filipinos to Buy Local, Support Local this Christmas

In this season of giving, what better way to share but by gifting locally made products by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), whether sweet treats, artisanal products, apparel, home decorations, or other keepsakes. By doing this, we not only keep our heritage alive while promoting local craftsmanship and delicacies, through our support for local goods, we also help businesses bounce back.

In partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) Buy Local, Support Local campaign, SM is providing MSMEs a way to sell their products through the SM Christmas Markets. The SM Christmas Markets will simultaneously happen in 54 malls nationwide, featuring around 300 MSME participants from nearby communities, DTI partners, tenants of SM Supermalls, and supplier partners of Kultura. Buy Local, Support Local is a national campaign that aims to boost demand for Philippine-made products, particularly those from small businesses. SM Christmas Markets will run from November 9, 2020 to January 3, 2021.

DTI Secretary Ramon Lopez, SM Supermalls President Steven Tan, and SM Retail President Chito Manalo personally visited the MSME participants of the SM Christmas Markets at Megamall. During a short program, DTI Sec. Lopez emphasized the role of MSMEs as the backbone of our economy as well as the sector mostly imperiled by the pandemic. “Filipinos should prioritize buying local products to help the economy recover from the corona virus pandemic. Only with this can we truly reopen and restart our economy,” said DTI Sec. Lopez.

“We are committed to working hand in hand with our MSME partners alongside government, and private sectors to provide an environment that will enable MSMEs to quickly adapt and recover,” said Steven Tan, President SM Supermalls. “When the pandemic struck in March this year, we waived rental fees in the malls and provided financial relief to our suppliers. We partnered with jeepney and tricycle drivers to deliver goods, and we continue to do everything we can for the businesses and people that rely on SM,”

“As MSMEs are the backbone of the economy, they are also the backbone of our business, that is why we made it a mission to support MSMEs, even before the pandemic, during the ECQ, and now as we kickstart the economy,” said Chito Manalo, President of SM Retail. “SM has a wide range of MSME partners from farming to artisan communities, from local manufacturers to shop owners, from food kiosks to restaurant owners, making SM a community, a marketplace, and partner to MSMEs,” said Chito.

SM traces its roots from a small shoe store put up in downtown Manila during the late 1950s so its affinity with MSMEs comes naturally. Some of its MSME partners started as homegrown businesses. As SM grew, a longstanding partnership has evolved beyond being a business transaction into an enabling community where MSMEs are nurtured in SM stores, malls, and other business ventures. For more updates and announcements, visit www.smsupermalls.com or social media pages of the SM mall near you.