The Philippines has had a lot of bad press lately but finally, a beacon of hope shines throughout the 7,107 islands of this beautiful country. Amazon.com and Nike are just two of many big brands attempting to make their market on the country and bring about a new era of change. The only question is, will they succeed?
AMAZON.COM SPREADS THEIR SEED IN THE PHILIPPINES; NIKE NEXT?
Besides the nearly instant shipping, another popular aspect of Amazon.com is their award-winning support. Jeff Bezos and company now want to spread this philosophy all around the world. As a result, Amazon is opening up their first customer service office in the Philippines. The new location creates over 300 new jobs immediately and will have over 1,000 more jobs by the end of 2018 in Cebu City. The site will provide support for the United Kingdom and North American customers but the effect is far greater than that. With big brands like Amazon.com and Nike making marks in the country, Filipinos are offered new chances of success beyond their previous years.
NIKE FOLLOWS AMAZON.COM; SPREADS THROUGHOUT PHILIPPINES
Amazon.com isn’t the only brand that sees the Philippines as fertile ground for growth. Nike, which already has several stories in the region, wants to expand their brand in more creative ways. Hence, Nike is starting a new initiative that will create five “Hyper Courts” in five unique neighborhoods throughout the country. These Hyper Courts are essential, artistic basketball courts featuring larger than life drawings of Nike’s best NBA athletes. Not only do these courts help develop the Nike brand in the country but will provide areas of community engagement for the underprivileged. But is it enough to save the country?
CAN NIKE AND AMAZON.COM REALLY SAVE THE COUNTRY?
Sure, these brands are helping the Philippines but is it really enough? is old-fashioned capitalism really going to save the economy? Perhaps they should really focus on changing the economy instead of saving it. For example, look at what Venezuela is doing. They’re embracing new, innovative cryptocurrency technologies to completely revamp their society. They are leading the way on monumental change. While it’s still too early to decide whether it will work or not, at least it’s more creative then spurring the economy with shoes.
