Author(s): Karenina A. Bernardez-Romualdo
A drastic drop on the number of establishments engaged with footwear-manufacturing in Central Luzon or Region III, alone, in the Philippines was recorded in 2000 to 2010. Several studies have reported reasons for the decrease of the number of players in the footwear industry in the Philippines; however, research on the decreasing number of entrepreneurs engaged with slipper-making in the Tsinelas Capital of the North, Gapan City, Nueva Ecija and the practice of promotion and distribution mix strategies of the owners for the business’ sustainable growth and success remain to be accomplished. This study described profile of the business enterprises, the promotion mix strategy decision through practice of advertising, sales promotion, personal selling, direct marketing, and public relations, and distribution mix strategy decision in terms of placement of orders, processing of orders, channel of distribution, intensity of distribution, and delivery of finished orders of the thirty (30) entrepreneurs engaged with slipper-making. Result of the study shows the rampant practice of non-registration of business despite length of years of operation of five (5) to forty-five (45) years exist because of tax avoidance; thus, stations and workshops of these establishments are located inside the houses or within the premise of the resident of the owners. Business mapping of the local government unit is not commonly conducted in these areas; thus, operating the business without securing proper permits are ongoing. Personal selling and indirect channel of distribution (active participation of the members of the distribution channel) are common business practices of the business enterprises. There exists a problem on the absence of knowledge on other promotion mix strategies for slipper-making amongst the owners and weakness on the utilization of other distribution mix strategies to access larger market. Creation of a single market promotion mix strategy decision plan for the slipper-making industry of Gapan City, Nueva Ecija and establishment of an omnichannel solution provides source of actions to help the industry of slipper-making to have sustainable growth and success.