THE Islands Group launched over the Sinulog weekend three Islands Pasalubong branches on Archbishop Reyes in front of Ayala Center Cebu, Raintree Mall on Gen. Maxilom Ave. and at their flagship store on Magallanes St. in front of the Sto. Nio Church and Magellans Cross.

The Islands Group president and chief executive officer Jonathan Jay Aldeguer said that for more than five years, they had a pasalubong section in some of their Islands Souvenirs stores. He said the section has always done well but customers told them they wanted a one-stop-shop that would carry all Cebu delicacies for pasalubong.

Most travelers dont have the luxury of time and they get frustrated having to go to at least three to four places to fulfill their pasalubong checklist. Thats the main reason why we decided to put up Islands Pasalubong, Aldeguer said in an email interview.

Since the stores soft opening last Saturday, Aldeguer said customer feedback has been extremely encouraging, which prompted them to extend store hours.

Completeness

He said sales over the Sinulog weekend was at its highest. They had to overstock their initial inventory just for the celebration, he said.

There are two main compliments that weve been getting. First is that, they like the completeness of the store. We have several hard-to-find products that customers dont see around anymore. The second is our prices. They noticed that our prices are standard and cheaper than most pasalubong centers, he said.

Aldeguer emphasized that they had to implement a strong and standard pricing policy in all of their establishments, including their hotels, because customers nowadays are very price conscious and value-driven.

The Islands Pasalubong sells Cebuano delicacies like dried mangoes, otap, rosquillos, among others. At least 40 percent of their merchandise mix carry other items from the smaller delicacy makers and placed them under the home-made section of the store.

We go as far as Argao, Danao and even Camotes to try to track down some of these famous delicacies but have not gone mainstream yet. You will see us introduce these products little by little, he said.

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Islands opens pasalubong centers