Chocoholics around the country, rejoice! Like Goldilocks, the country’s number one bakeshop is delighted to announce the return of the fan-favorite ALL-ABOUT CHOCOLATE cake! Now back with its improved design! Enjoy this deliciously fudgy and creamy creation at Goldilocks stores Nationwide! For more information, you may follow @GoldilocksPH on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, or visit the official Goldilocks website at www.goldilocks.com.ph

For a small business, growing at a comfortable pace can be tough. Not only do you have to worry about keeping yourself out of the red, but you’ll also have to make the right amount of profit so you have enough to invest back into developing your business.

This was pretty much the reality that Aries Uy was faced with when he started Express Clean, a self-service laundromat, back in 2017. “It was a total risk with doubts and uncertainty involved,” Uy related. He added that starting his business was a gamble with whatever savings he had at the time. “As an entrepreneur, you need to be ready to take those calculated risks.”

But a chance meeting with Alfamart, the first and only Super Minimart chain in the country, changed everything. Fortuitously, Alfamart was looking for partners to grow with, by subleasing some of their space to small businesses. Express Clean began their partnership with Alfamart in December 2017, opening its first branch in San Pedro, Laguna, right beside the store.

Since then, Express Clean has expanded to seven branches; each besides an Alfamart store. “Alfamart provided us the platform to jumpstart our growth in the industry,” Uy said. “We saw remarkable potential in the concept of a self-service type of laundry. Our partnership with Alfamart helped us realize it,” he added.

Ever since its entry into the Philippine market in 2014, Alfamart has kept its development grassroots-focused, constantly looking for partners to grow with “When we brought the brand in from Indonesia, we didn’t just take the Alfamart name,” said Alfamart Philippines COO Harvey Ong. “We also brought with it the philosophy of starting from the bottom up, growing with the communities we serve, and the partners that we engage with,” he continued.

Much like other small businesses, Express Clean was also affected by the recent Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID19) pandemic’s economic impact. “Undeniably, this pandemic has tested the mettle of many businesses, including ours,” Uy said. “Fortunately for us, our operating system has already been established, hence, enabling us to withstand the situation. With the support of Alfamart, as well as the flexible arrangements they provided their tenants during this crisis, not only were we able to consolidate our operations, but we were also able to open up new branches during the lockdown period,” he explained.

“It is through the help of reliable partners that we were able to overcome the challenges of the pandemic,” Ong concurred. “We can rely on them, and they can rely on us,” he concluded.

For more information on how your business can work together with Alfamart, you may visit https://www.alfamart.com.ph/be-a-tenant/.

Acer’s dominance in notebooks was unshaken with 32%-unit share brand performance in August. It also recorded the highest sales units in more than a year. Similarly, Acer led value to share with 31% of the market and reached the highest brand value seen in 13 months. Based on GFK’s research, Acer holds the number 1 position in the notebook laptops market for 14 consecutive years.

On the gaming segment, Acer strengthened its grip of the Gaming notebooks market with a 42%-unit share in August, setting another new record in more than a year. Predator Helios 300 was the bestselling Gaming notebook for Acer. It is consistent in topping the gaming PC market.

Acer’s dominant position in the Education market through the Acer Academy program

In the absence of the Covid-19 vaccine, face-to-face encounters have been restricted by the Philippine government especially for the Education segment. Demands for mobile computing devices have highly increased due to the distant learning scheme in the country.

Acer Academy is a program designed to provide the educational environment the digital framework that will enable a way of interaction within the academic situation. It has a dedicated team to work closely with schools and academic units to develop real and innovative IT solutions that accelerate the learning process and set new benchmarks in educational standards. The program is open to all Philippine private and public schools, colleges, and universities.

Aside from Acer Academy, Acer’s education-driven programs during the crisis include product discounts thru Acer Academy Faculty Student Purchase Program and Learn from Home Campaign, a product bundle in partnership with Smart for a Department of Education (DepEd) compliant online learning setup, and Acer and Intel Scholar program wherein they offer free laptops to scholars.

Acer’s initiative on corporate 

Acer continued operations to serve essential and frontline industries such as in healthcare, banks, telecommunications, and business process outsourcing (BPOs) even during the lockdown. The increase in the demand from the enterprise market for laptops as a work-from-home (WFH) productivity tool during lockdown pushed for more sales of Acer products from the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises market.

Consumer segment 

The surge in gaming as part of stay-at-home entertainment helped in pushing for sales of Acer’s wide range of products. Acer relaunched an enhanced e-commerce website selling its laptops, desktops, projectors, monitors, and accessories.

The laptop brand’s social media has also been consistently active with various social media activities especially for Predator helping them establish a solid connection with the gaming community. Predator recently concluded Predacast, a series of online workshops conducted by brand ambassadors such as Alodia & Ashley Gosiengfiao, CongTV & Team Payaman, Akosi Dogie, TNC Predator Dota 2 Pro Team, ArkAngel Predator PUBG Pro Team, Nexplay Predator, VladFX, Kuya Nic & Lupon WxC, Kang Dupet, Een Mercado, Kuku Palad, Marlon Marcelo, and its newest ambassadress,

Ivana Alawi, among other esports key personalities. Acer also provided relevant promotions during the pandemic including the partnership with Home Credit for up to 18 months installment at 0% interest, and the free foldable work desk bundled with select Acer laptops to aid workers whose income was affected by the pandemic.

Acer has a broad presence nationwide, making its products available and accessible in brick and mortar stores and online. Other initiatives during the pandemic include e-commerce development and low-touch after-sales service programs such as warranty extension, 24/7 phone/chat support, and door-to-door pick-up and delivery service. Visit Acer’s Official Social Media Pages for more details: Facebook – @AcerPH, Instagram – @acerph, Twitter – @acerphils, www.acer.com.

Century Pacific Food, Inc. (PSE: CNPF), through its coconut manufacturing arm Century Pacific Agricultural Ventures, Inc. (CPAVI), has signed a partnership with Friends of Hope to donate quality seedlings to smallholder coconut farmers -- enabling the planting of productive coconut trees and the replacement of non-fruit-bearing senile ones in South Central Mindanao.

URC continues to provide support to local entrepreneurs such as sari-sari store owners through the BayaniJuan Caravan.

To honor the bayanihan spirit of Filipinos and help support sari-sari store owners, Universal Robina Corporation (URC) launched its BayaniJuan Caravan.

Getting an intense power workout into your daily routine helps keep your mind focused and your body in shape. Dedicating at least 30 minutes every day to your physical well-being allows you to recharge and leaves you feeling reenergized. Whether you clock in several hours doing lifts, core, and cardio or just squeeze in a few light sets in between meetings, making a Clear Upgrade to your daily training can help you get as much energy and endorphins from it as you can.