MINERVA BC NEWMAN
CEBU CITY – Some 6,000 consumers have already visited the Great Cebu Sale (GCS) 2020 on its official website www.thegreatcebusale.com and event organizers noted an increasing and growing online traffic since it started its virtual sale on Sept. 15 and the sale is still ongoing until October.
According to Camille Aldeguer the GCS chairperson that the Great Cebu Sale 2020 is Cebu’s first ever industry-wide virtual sale event of the best deals consumers could get from their favorite merchants. The GCS introduces Cebu’s top brands in the hospitality, wellness, travel, automotive, fashion, hardware, electronics, and food industries.
“We expect this to increase moving forward especially if more people will be aware that some of Cebu’s famous brands are offering great deals and promos this time. Based on the feedback we’ve received, people are eager to go out and relax, many have therefore purchased overnight stay promos offered by our resorts and hotels,” Aldeguer said.
She added that most of the site visitors come from the Philippines, followed by the US, Japan, Singapore and Qatar. On a city basis, top visitors come from Ceby City, followed by Iloilo City, Davao City, Quezon City and Makati City.
The sites of tourism-related companies are the most accessed by GCS visitors, Aldeguer noted and they are followed by electronics, lifestyle, home essentials, and food and beverage (F&B). The promos offered by our resorts, hotels and F&B establishments are the top deals.
Aldeguer said they seek to further raise awareness on the ongoing online sale event among shoppers.
The GCS official website is up and running to promote the promos offered by the participating merchants.
The website does not have a payment platform. The fulfillment of the order or purchase lies directly under the responsibility of the participating company, she said.
The GCS organizers have also scheduled various webinars throughout the sale period to stimulate interest from the public and to help guide businesses retailers and consumers on the new normal, GCS co-chair Raki Urbina said.
On Sept. 28 and 29, GCS has scheduled a two-part webinar series entitled “Rethinking our Business and Repurposing our Facilities for Survival and Sustenance #Diskarte” for the first part and on Oct. 5 and 6 for the second part.
On Oct. 12 and 13, another webinar dubbed as “Redefining and Optimizing the Essential Components of Retail in these Most Challenging Times” will also be conducted while on Oct. 19 and 20, GCS will also host a webinar on “Leading by Emotional Intelligence with Stressed-out Workforce and Anxious Guests and Customers,” Urbina bared.
According to Chester Lim, president of the Philippine Retailers Association (PRA) in Cebu, the main organizer of the GCS that they planned to extend the conduct of webinars through the holiday season.
“Extending the webinar towards the holiday season is a good idea. The initial plan is to do a monthly sale per industry. We will just probably wait for the outcome of this one before deciding to proceed with the next sale,” Lim said.
If the virtual sale will be extended, there will be a different set of offers and promos for the Christmas season, Lim added.
Meantime, the GCS organizers also announced the raffling off prizes every week to stimulate participation from the public.
Consumers can join the raffle through Facebook, by joining the webinars and through submission of proof of purchase of at least P1,000 and above from any of the participating merchants between Sept. 15 to Oct. 31, 2020.
Raffle entries can be submitted by messaging the official FB page of GCS or email via info@thegreatcebusale.com the receipt with complete name, address, mobile number and email of the customer.
“We will be announcing the weekly winners every Monday starting Sept. 28, Oct. 5 and 12, Oct. 19 and 26 and Nov. 2. Our official delivery partners Lalamove will deliver the prizes to the address you officially registered,” Aldeguer said.
A person can submit multiple transactions per week for greater chances of receiving prizes. Please visit the FB Page of Great Cebu Sale for more detailed mechanics, she added.
GCS 2020 Participating establishments
Participating in the sale are wellness facilities such as Maayo Well Cebu, Prosel Pharma Inc., and UV Care, Hotel and Spa Essentials; food and beverage merchants such as Cafe Laguna, Dessert Factory, Margets Deli, Nanays Best, The Lemon Co., Fujinoya Café and Bakery, Amarillo, Lighthouse Restaurant, Freshco Cebu Brand Dried Fruits, Uy Masuy Wine Factory, Bubble Tea Station, Casa Verde, Bricklane Doughnuts, Bon Chon, Asian Wave Seafood Corp.,Lemon Grass and D+B Wines, Global Pacific, and 10 Dove Street.
Travel and tourism brands such as Waterfront Hotel and Casino, Marco Polo Plaza, Bai Hotel, J Park Island Resort & Waterpark Cebu, Crimson Resort & Spa, Ano World, Seda Hotel, Cebu Grand Hotel, Kasai Village, Mezzo Hotel, One Central Hotel, M J Hotel & Suites, Cebu White Sands, Savoy Hotel Mactan Newtown, Radisson Blu, Plantation Bay Resort & Spa, Citadines, Summit Galleria Cebu, Southwind Travel & Tours, The Henry, Solea Mactan Cebu Resort, Quest Hotel, Destination Specialists Cebu, Cebu Parklane International Hotel, Golden Prince Hotel and Suites, Residencia Isabella, Goldberry Suites and Hotels, San Remigio Beach Club, Tambuli Seaside Resort & Spa, Mystical Rose Flower Farm & Lemon Orchard, The Hotel Elizabeth and Yello Hotel.
Hardware establishments such as Belmont Hardware Depot, Cebu Home and Builders Centre, Living N Style, Worldwide Home Depot and Worldwide Tile Depot; lifestyle brands such as ATE by Tatah, Mi Dept. Store, Island Souvenirs, My Jewels, Outlets at Pueblo Verde and Loalde.
Home essentials merchants such as Ayala Centre Cebu, Ayala Central Bloc, SM City Cebu, SM City Consolacion, Belmont One, Gaisano, Gaisano Grand Malls, Robinsons Galleria Cebu, Prince Hypermart, Oakridge Business Park, SM Seaside City and Uratex Foam the Sleep Specialist.
Electronics merchants such as Aerophone, Junrex, NGenius, RC Goldline and Family Appliance; automotive companies such as Fast Autoworld Philippines Corporation, Global Star, Hyundai and JMC; and other services such as DMC Busa Printers, Peel Uniform Printing Services and Architectural Interior Source.
The Great Cebu Sale 2020 is organized in collaboration with the Resort & Restaurant Association of Cebu, Inc. (HRRACI); Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI). Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), Cebu Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce (CFCCC); Hardware Consolidated, Inc. (HCI); Cebu Alliance of Tour Operation Specialists, Inc. (CATOS); Cebu Business Club (CBC) and the Mactan Export Processing Zone Chamber of Exporters and Manufacturers (MEPZCEM).
The organizers of GCS 2020 thanked the following sponsors: Anjo World, Island Souvenirs, Ng Khai, Alcordo Advertising, Twin Bee Print Ads, Wee Doo, Lalamove, GlobeMyBusiness, RD Pawnshop, Aerophone and Uratex.
