COA Reveals Duty Free Philippines’ Sales amid the COVID-19 Pandemic
DUTY FREE – The Commission on Audit (COA) said the state-run corporation suffered a huge sales drop amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Not only small businesses but as well as big ones are suffering from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The week-long, if not month-long, lockdown measures have stopped the operation of many businesses in several countries.
Aside from the lockdown, certain measures also limit the operation of many businesses. In the Philippines, even the essential businesses have reduced their workforce and adapted schemes like remote working modes in the pursuit to cope with the demands of the pandemic.
However, there are businesses that can hardly cope and avoid a big drop in their sales. Among these are those businesses linked in travel. Many countries are currently implementing travel bans.
The Duty Free Philippines Corporation (DFPC), a government-owned corporation, is one of those that are greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Its operation is reliant on travel across the globe.
Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, the Commission on Audit (COA) revealed that the net sales of Duty Free dropped by 72.37% in 2020, the year when the COVID-19 pandemic started.
In 2019, the DFPC recorded a net sale total of $226.200.00. In 2020, it dropped to $62.490.00. The management team of the institution stressed that the sales are heavily dependent on departures and international travels.
According to the audit team, they are recommending the management of Duty Free to adapt to strategies that can help ease the impacts of the pandemic. Furthermore, a suggestion of turning to cost-cutting measures to ease the losses is also on the surface now.
As for the DFPC, it is eyeing the implementation of programs to boost the penetration on the market of travelers despite the limits now. It assured that it will try to meet the current conditions of the consumers.
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