By Victoria “NIKE” De Dios
With over three decades of serving the tourists, Balikbayan and Overseas Filipino market, Duty Free Philippines (DFP) has been an iconic brand in the country’s travel retail industry. As an attached agency of the Tourism Department, it has, through the years, been true to its mandate of providing the duty and tax free shopping needs of its limited market of international travelers.
The ever-changing consumer preferences and shift in retail models, DFP has to continuously finding ways to be at par with the current global business trends. From the renovation works, especially at its flagship Fiestamall store near the Manila International Airport terminals were undertaken, then the introduction of Luxe Duty Free, a high end luxury shop was established and strategically located at the country and Asia’s biggest mall complex and entertainment city. Apart from that, the international airport stores, especially at Mactan in Cebu, were also upgraded, and more popular and exclusive brands were launched to further expand its merchandise mix.
A new logo was hence developed to complete the company’s rebranding. The logo was carefully remodeled so as not to lose its trademark Filipino homey feel hence retaining the popular basket weave design. The refreshed logo now emits sophistication and elegance with the black and gold colors while the diamond shape symbolizes excellence – true to DFP’s goal to be the country’s premier travel retailer.
According to DFP Chief Operating Officer Vicente Pelagio A. Angala, “The new logo design reflects what DFP is today while the core elements representing the Filipino’s traditional duty free shopping has been retained.”
However, the formal launch has to be put on hold due to the pandemic. “Our planned relaunch and rebranding would be inappropriate at the moment considering the travel restrictions in place and the company’s precarious business situation. However, we deemed it best to push through with the use of the new logo”, Angala said.
“We shall slowly introduce this new DFP logo to serve as a reminder for us all that there is hope for new beginnings and a fresh start. We would like to give our customers something to look forward to. The new logo is our way of announcing to all that we are all set to give you a newer and better Duty Free Philippines“, he added.