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10/07/09, 10:21 AM
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Post-‘Ondoy’ bestseller: Air mattresses
By Doris Dumlao, DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:35:00 10/07/2009
Filed Under: Ondoy (http://services.inquirer.net/tagcloud/keyword.php?tag=Ondoy&id=1253&imp=), Flood (http://services.inquirer.net/tagcloud/keyword.php?tag=%20Flood&id=43&imp=), Disasters (general) (http://services.inquirer.net/tagcloud/keyword.php?tag=%20Disasters%20%28general%29&id=57&imp=), Consumer Issues (http://services.inquirer.net/tagcloud/keyword.php?tag=%20Consumer%20Issues&id=118&imp=)
MANILA, Philippines—Guess which piece of “survival gear” suddenly became in demand after Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (international codename: Ketsana).
Filipinos with painful lessons learned from the recent flash floods have apparently added one unusual item to their shopping list of emergency supplies: Inflatable beds.
Not a few residents of Metro Manila and other affected areas used air mattresses as rafts to save themselves and their pets, or to ferry belongings as the raging waters rose.
Retail sales of inflatable beds have since surged as many households now want improvised lifeboats ready come the next killer storm—and especially after Ondoy exposed the woeful lack of boats for government rescue operations.
400 percent up
Sales of inflatable beds have jumped by about 400 percent at the SM group’s ACE Hardware chain, the Philippine Daily Inquirer learned Tuesday.
The spike was observed particularly in outlets near the areas worst hit by the floods, like Cainta town and Antipolo City in Rizal province, and Malabon, Pasig and Quezon City in Metro Manila, according to an SM official.
The official assured the flood-weary public that “supply is adequate and consignor can meet increased demands.”
“About five times,” Glenn Ramos, a salesperson at the ACE Megamall branch in Mandaluyong City, said when he was asked how much had the daily sales increased.
Ramos said the brisk sales became noticeable beginning Sept. 28, two days after Ondoy lashed the metropolis.
20 sold daily
Before the calamity, the branch sold a daily average of just four to five beds. But since last week, 20 or more units have left the store daily, he said.
Single-size inflatable beds sell at ACE for P499.75 each, while double-size units sell for twice as much.
Offers to sell inflatable beds online have likewise been getting more hits in Ondoy’s wake. A second-hand Coleman queen-size bed with air pump and nozzles, for example, sells for around P2,500 at www.sulit.com.ph.
Amparo Laureano, a young businesswoman from Malabon, used an air bed to rescue her mother and two siblings who were trapped on the third floor of their house in Barangay Potrero.
In an interview Tuesday, Laureano said she decided to take matters into her own hands after failing to get any immediate help from various emergency hotlines.
Brand-new
She initially looked for a rope to help her mother cross to safer ground—then suddenly remembered the brand new, family-size air bed she earlier received as a gift.
After saving her mother, Laureano lent her air bed to neighbors who also needed to be evacuated.
The bed went missing after that chaotic episode, but Laureano took comfort in the thought that with the air bed she unexpectedly managed to help many people during the emergency.
“I’m planning to buy a new one, just in case,” she said.
Ramos of the ACE Megamall branch said the store had also sold more emergency lights, batteries, raincoats, umbrellas and boots since the calamity struck.
source (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20091007-228774/Post-Ondoy-bestseller-Air-mattresses)
Post-‘Ondoy’ bestseller: Air mattresses
By Doris Dumlao, DJ Yap
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:35:00 10/07/2009
Filed Under: Ondoy (http://services.inquirer.net/tagcloud/keyword.php?tag=Ondoy&id=1253&imp=), Flood (http://services.inquirer.net/tagcloud/keyword.php?tag=%20Flood&id=43&imp=), Disasters (general) (http://services.inquirer.net/tagcloud/keyword.php?tag=%20Disasters%20%28general%29&id=57&imp=), Consumer Issues (http://services.inquirer.net/tagcloud/keyword.php?tag=%20Consumer%20Issues&id=118&imp=)
MANILA, Philippines—Guess which piece of “survival gear” suddenly became in demand after Tropical Storm “Ondoy” (international codename: Ketsana).
Filipinos with painful lessons learned from the recent flash floods have apparently added one unusual item to their shopping list of emergency supplies: Inflatable beds.
Not a few residents of Metro Manila and other affected areas used air mattresses as rafts to save themselves and their pets, or to ferry belongings as the raging waters rose.
Retail sales of inflatable beds have since surged as many households now want improvised lifeboats ready come the next killer storm—and especially after Ondoy exposed the woeful lack of boats for government rescue operations.
400 percent up
Sales of inflatable beds have jumped by about 400 percent at the SM group’s ACE Hardware chain, the Philippine Daily Inquirer learned Tuesday.
The spike was observed particularly in outlets near the areas worst hit by the floods, like Cainta town and Antipolo City in Rizal province, and Malabon, Pasig and Quezon City in Metro Manila, according to an SM official.
The official assured the flood-weary public that “supply is adequate and consignor can meet increased demands.”
“About five times,” Glenn Ramos, a salesperson at the ACE Megamall branch in Mandaluyong City, said when he was asked how much had the daily sales increased.
Ramos said the brisk sales became noticeable beginning Sept. 28, two days after Ondoy lashed the metropolis.
20 sold daily
Before the calamity, the branch sold a daily average of just four to five beds. But since last week, 20 or more units have left the store daily, he said.
Single-size inflatable beds sell at ACE for P499.75 each, while double-size units sell for twice as much.
Offers to sell inflatable beds online have likewise been getting more hits in Ondoy’s wake. A second-hand Coleman queen-size bed with air pump and nozzles, for example, sells for around P2,500 at www.sulit.com.ph.
Amparo Laureano, a young businesswoman from Malabon, used an air bed to rescue her mother and two siblings who were trapped on the third floor of their house in Barangay Potrero.
In an interview Tuesday, Laureano said she decided to take matters into her own hands after failing to get any immediate help from various emergency hotlines.
Brand-new
She initially looked for a rope to help her mother cross to safer ground—then suddenly remembered the brand new, family-size air bed she earlier received as a gift.
After saving her mother, Laureano lent her air bed to neighbors who also needed to be evacuated.
The bed went missing after that chaotic episode, but Laureano took comfort in the thought that with the air bed she unexpectedly managed to help many people during the emergency.
“I’m planning to buy a new one, just in case,” she said.
Ramos of the ACE Megamall branch said the store had also sold more emergency lights, batteries, raincoats, umbrellas and boots since the calamity struck.
source (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20091007-228774/Post-Ondoy-bestseller-Air-mattresses)