Left-right: Speed Regalo, President, Jason Cheng; Speed Regalo, General Manager, Jose Carlo Medina; Duty Free Philippines COO Vico Angala, Duty Free Philippines Deputy COO Bernardine Belmonte.

Duty Free Philippines Corporation (DFPC), has partnered with online gift delivery service Speed Regalo to launch a digital shopping platform, which TRBusiness has learned could go live on 17 December.

Passengers travelling to the Philippines will be able to make advanced purchases online and collect their items on arrival at their destination airport.

Initially, the offer will be limited to chocolates and liquor, but will eventually include a number of gifts including Pinoy-made products, gift-baskets and plush toys.

PLANNED OFFER

Traditional duty free product categories such as chocolates, tobacco, liquor, perfume and grocery items will also be available along with brands such as Kate Spade, Bally, Longchamp, Tumi, Coach, Michael Kors and Dior.

Shoppers will be able to choose from a selection of local Filipino products when visiting the Go Lokal section.

Regarding the company’s decision to launch the online platform, Raphael Mondragon, Officer-in-Charge for Logistic Division, Duty Free Philippines Corporation told TRBusiness: “Duty Free Philippines Corporation recognised the shifting behaviour of retail customers to patronise online platforms due to the convenience it provides.”    

Mondragon, who is the company’s online business will account for 5% to 10% of total sales by 2020, revealed a delivery option is also in the pipeline. This would see items wrapped and packaged as gifts ahead of dispatch.

Duty Free Philippines Corporation COO Vico Angala (second from left) shakes hands with Speed Regalo, General Manager, Jose Carlo Medina (second from right) following the finalisation of the partnership.

“The key to this service is the ability to verify if a customer is a legitimate traveller,” Mondragon explained. “We will work hand-in-hand with our partners, SpeedRegalo, to establish a verification system with the Bureau of Immigration.

“Once verified as a legitimate traveler, customers will be given the option to have their purchases delivered to their place of residence for a nominal fee.”

This latest development caps a busy an exciting period for DFPC, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2017 and soft-opened its its Luxe Duty Free luxury shopping outlet at the SM Mall of Asia entertainment and leisure complex in Pasay City, Manila in October.