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Recently, the Department of Trade and Industry's (DTI) Go Lokal! program has inducted another high-end concept store into its ranks. The aforementioned program is an effort to boost small, medium and micro businesses to the forefront of the mainstream within the industry.

According to a foreword written by Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez for the book also entitled Marahuyo, “In Marahuyo, we have assembled an impressive lineup of Philippine designer brands that represent world elegance borne out of the Filipinos’ deeply rooted passion to create. This initiative will serve as the impetus that will help our MSMEs expand, and create, more jobs and employment opportunities for our countrymen.” Lopez expanded on these sentiments during the launch of the shop at the Duty-Free Philippines Luxe Mall in the Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City.

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“Today marks the culmination of an idea that began years ago. An idea of a world-class duty-free store that will put the Philippines as a top-of-mind shopping destination to boost the country’s shopping tourism,” said DFPC COO Pelagio Angala. “We acknowledge our vital role, and to stay ahead of our competitors and to strengthen the Philippines as a great destination for travelers, we continue to explore ways to offer unique and extraordinary experiences that cannot be replicated easily.”

“Go Lokal! really began by supporting medium-priced products which is where the majority of our MSMEs were positioned," said Trade Assistant Secretary Rosvi Gaetos There remained a number of SMEs that catered to the higher-end market, using locally available resources to create luxurious designs of high quality—what we now refer to as ‘practical luxury.’ These are the businesses the DTI now supports with Marahuyo."

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“Each of the Philippine designer brands you will find at Marahuyo are socially responsible enterprises that work with local communities to create [products] using traditional and indigenous materials,” concluded Gaetos. “In fact, every purchase from this boutique contributes to the livelihood of our Filipino craft communities.”

Marahuyo is Tagalog for "a state of enchantment and attraction." Recently, the store asked Budji Layug, the renowned designer to be their creative director. With this latest launch of a store from the Go Lokal! program, perhaps Marahuyo will be another brand that continues to fill the void for consumers looking for expensive yet delicately crafted jewelry.

Information originally sourced from BusinessMirror.