'Ukay' is okay business for OFWs amid economic crisis
MANILA, Philippines - In these dire times, it’s okay for overseas Filipinos to invest in ‘ukay-ukay’ (rummage / surplus stores).
This was the advice of economist Federico Macaranas for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who want to go into business despite a gloomy economic climate.
“It is a nice opportunity for you in this recessionary time it would be in food, ukay-ukay, and all cheaper goods that poorer people would buy," Macaranas told GMANews.TV in an interview.
Macaranas, who is also executive director of the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center, explained that the ukay-ukay will be a hit among frugal Filipinos, especially as Christmas day draws near.
OFWs are told to expand their horizons amid the global economic crisis that have seen the massive lay off of workers in several countries. Some economists are encouraging returning Filipino workers to try entrepreneurship while various economies are recovering from the meltdown.
Last October, the Department of Labor and Employment created a contingency plan for laid off OFWs that includes financial assistance for small businesses.
Ukay-ukay stores have mushroomed throughout Metro Manila in the past few years owing to the low investment capital needed to set up such enterprise. An ukay-ukay owner told GMANews.TV that it cost him just 50,000 pesos to open three stores.
Products like surplus, often oversized clothes; semi-used shoes, children’s toys, and kitchen wares are often being sold at low prices in ukay-ukay stores.
The ukay-ukay got its name from ‘hukay-hukay’ which literally means “digging" or “sifting through" clothes that are often piled up in bins or cardboard boxes.
Before being known as ukay, these surplus shops were popularly known as ‘wagwagan’ (to shake off) stores in Baguio City, the Philippines’ summer capital. - GMANews.TV
This was the advice of economist Federico Macaranas for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who want to go into business despite a gloomy economic climate.
“It is a nice opportunity for you in this recessionary time it would be in food, ukay-ukay, and all cheaper goods that poorer people would buy," Macaranas told GMANews.TV in an interview.
Macaranas, who is also executive director of the Asian Institute of Management Policy Center, explained that the ukay-ukay will be a hit among frugal Filipinos, especially as Christmas day draws near.
OFWs are told to expand their horizons amid the global economic crisis that have seen the massive lay off of workers in several countries. Some economists are encouraging returning Filipino workers to try entrepreneurship while various economies are recovering from the meltdown.
Last October, the Department of Labor and Employment created a contingency plan for laid off OFWs that includes financial assistance for small businesses.
Ukay-ukay stores have mushroomed throughout Metro Manila in the past few years owing to the low investment capital needed to set up such enterprise. An ukay-ukay owner told GMANews.TV that it cost him just 50,000 pesos to open three stores.
Products like surplus, often oversized clothes; semi-used shoes, children’s toys, and kitchen wares are often being sold at low prices in ukay-ukay stores.
The ukay-ukay got its name from ‘hukay-hukay’ which literally means “digging" or “sifting through" clothes that are often piled up in bins or cardboard boxes.
Before being known as ukay, these surplus shops were popularly known as ‘wagwagan’ (to shake off) stores in Baguio City, the Philippines’ summer capital. - GMANews.TV
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