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Bolts improve to 2-0 in Philippine Cup with victory over San Miguel

THE Meralco Bolts improved to 2-0 in the PBA Philippine Cup after defeating the San Miguel Beermen, 93-87, on Sunday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City. — PBA IMAGES

THE Meralco Bolts improved to 2-0 in the (Philippine Basketball Association) PBA Philippine Cup after defeating the San Miguel Beermen, 93-87, in the opening game on Sunday at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

Meralco used a strong third-quarter push to create a separation from the Beermen from which the latter could not recover from.

San Miguel started the contest strong, racing to an early 9-2 lead in the first four minutes.

The Bolts, however, managed to charge back in the next six seven minutes, coming within a point, 19-18.

The Beermen created some distance anew for the rest of the period to hold a 25-18 advantage.

In the second quarter, the jostling continued with the teams fighting to a 37-all count at the 3:45 mark of the period before Meralco went on to outscore San Miguel, 5-4, to take a 42-41 advantage at the half time break.

The Bolts picked up where they left off to start the third canto, connecting on back-to-back triples, care of Nards Pinto and Mac Belo, to raise their lead to six points, 48-42, in the opening two minutes.

They get to sustain the spirited start, extending their lead to 15 points, 74-59, heading into the fourth period.

In the payoff quarter, sensing the game was slipping away from them, the Beermen came out with more fire.

Led by Terrence Romeo, San Miguel cut its deficit to just six points, 77-71, with 9:12 to play.

Unfortunately for the Beermen, less than a minute later Mr. Romeo would suffer what was feared to be an MCL injury.

Thereafter, Aaron Black helped give Meralco more cushion with back-to-back three-pointers for an 85-77 advantage at the 3:47 mark.

San Miguel still tried to claw its way back but could only come the nearest at five points, 88-83, with a minute to play.

Chris Newsome paced the Bolts in the win with 17 points to go along with six assists. Mr. Black, named best player of the game after, meanwhile, wound up with 14 points, going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc.

Reynel Hugnatan had 13 points for Meralco.

“We did not have a good start but by the second half, we got to play our game better and our conditioning gave us an advantage to pull away,” said Meralco coach Norman Black after their win.

San Miguel, meanwhile, was led by Mr. Romeo with 18 points before he got hurt. CJ Perez and Mo Tautuaa had 17 each.

Six-time Philippine Basketball Association most valuable player June Mar Fajardo returned from injury for the Beermen, finishing with five points and five rebounds in 18 minutes of play. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

Current and future PHL weightlifting stars in Olympics

FOUR-TIME Olympian Hidilyn Diaz (left) and debuting Erleen Ann Ando are the Philippine weightlifting bets for the rescheduled Olympic Games happening from July 23 to Aug. 8. — HIDILYN DIAZ AND ERLEEN ANN ANDO FB PAGES

By Michael Angelo S. Murillo, Senior Reporter

THE Olympic Games in Tokyo this year is a significant one for Philippine weightlifting as it features the now and the future of the sport in the country.

Four-time Olympian Hidilyn Diaz, 30, and debuting Erleen Ann Ando, 22, are the Philippine weightlifting bets for the rescheduled Games happening from July 23 to Aug. 8.

Zamboanga native Diaz will be competing in the women’s 55-kg category while Cebuana Ando pits her skills in the women’s 64-kg event.

The face of weightlifting here for more than a decade now, Ms. Diaz is looking to build on her silver medal-winning performance in the Rio Games in 2016.

She is going to Tokyo off an extended preparation made more challenging because of the pandemic.

“This Olympics is different from the three others for me because we are in a pandemic. [But] I think I’m more prepared this time around,” said Ms. Diaz in a Messenger chat with BusinessWorld from Malaysia where she has been training since last year.

Ms. Diaz first made it to the Olympics in 2008 in Beijing then returned in 2012 in London. She pulled off a breakthrough performance in Brazil four years later, winning the silver medal to help the Philippines avoid a medal shutout for said Summer Games.

The veteran Olympian shared that preparation for this year’s Olympics was very challenging but she and her team managed to stay the course and are now ready to see what they have long worked for through.

“We have been training in Malaysia since last year and it has not been easy. Lockdowns are implemented here and our movement is limited. When you are stressed out, you cannot go out. You miss Filipino food. There are days when you are not up for it, but you forge ahead,” she said.

“But this (weightlifting) is what I want to do and I want to inspire. So we are really working hard despite the conditions. And hopefully, it pays off in Tokyo,” she added.

Ms. Diaz went on to say that she is confident that she will have a podium finish and is going for the gold amid what she expects to be a tough competition.

“I truly believe that I will get a medal, but I’m not sure what color. Of course, the ultimate goal for every athlete in the Olympics is to win the gold. It’s a battle among the best of the best in the world but I’m going to fight,” she said.

“I’ll be doing everything I can. I don’t want to make guarantees. I’ll just perform and go for the gold. And I am asking for prayers and support.”

SURPRISED QUALIFICATION
Meanwhile, Ms. Ando’s qualification may have come as a surprise for her but she said she is ready to compete in her first-ever Olympics, eyeing at least a top three finish.

“I’m ready for the Olympics. This is the biggest event for me so far in my career. It’s going to be tough, but I’ll try hard to enter the top three,” Ms. Ando said in Filipino in her interview with Team Pilipinas on PTV 4 on Saturday.

Ms. Ando earned Olympic entry by way of the continental ranking under the watch of the International Weightlifting Federation. Being the second-ranked weightlifter in her division, boosted by silver and bronze medal-winning finishes in the last Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Uzbekistan, Ms. Ando was awarded a spot.

Ms. Ando said she is fully aware that she is seen as an heir apparent for Ms. Diaz in the sport and feels honored by it.

“I know people are saying that I am the next Hidilyn. There is some pressure in it, but it’s an honor and I will work hard. Hopefully, I live up to the expectations,” she said.

Ms. Diaz will be the first to compete for the Philippines on July 26 followed by Ms. Ando the following day.

Eala and American partner top ITF Italy girls’ doubles tourney

FILIPINO Alex Eala (in photo) and American Madison Sieg topped the Trofeo Bonfiglio girls’ doubles event in Milan, Italy, on Saturday night (Manila time). — ALEX EALA FB PAGE

FILIPINO tennis wunderkind Alex Eala and American partner Madison Sieg topped the Trofeo Bonfiglio girls’ doubles event in Milan, Italy, on Saturday night (Manila time).

The duo defeated the tandem of Lucija Čirić Bagarić of Croatia and Sofia Costoulas of Belgium (6-4, 4-6, 13-11) in the finals of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) JA tournament.

It was the second girls’ doubles title for 16-year-old Eala in 2021 following her conquest of the French Open title with Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva in June.

Mses. Eala and Sieg built an early 3-0 cushion in the opening set of the Milan finals but saw their opponents level the count at 4-4 after. They were able to recover from it, however, taking the next two games to claim the frame.

In the second set, the Croatian-Belgian team made another spirited charge back midway, forcing another 4-4 stalemate. But unlike in the opening frame, it got to finish the comeback to force a deciding set.

The decider was nip-and-tuck with Mses. Bagarić and Costoulas gaining early control.

Mses. Eala and Sieg though would tie the score at 5-5 and overtake their opponents, 7-6, to claim the lead for the first time in the third set.

The teams did not budge after, fighting to an 11-all count. But the Filipino-American tandem would beat its rival duo to the punch, winning the next two games to close out the proceedings and take the win.

The championship was a culmination of an impressive run of Mses. Eala and Sieg, the third and 16th juniors players in the world, respectively, in Milan.

In the road to the title, they beat Stefana Bojića (Romania) and Matilde Jorge (Portugal) in the first round; Russians Anastasiia Gureva and Ekaterina Maklakova in the second; Yaroslava Bartashevich and Ksenia Zaytseva in the quarterfinals; and Kira Pavlova and Diana Shnaider in the semifinals.

It could well be a double celebration for Rafa Nadal Academy scholar and Globe ambassador Eala as she was also set to compete in the finals of the girls’ singles event later on Sunday against Czech Republic’s Nikola Bartunkova. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo

UEFA announces Champions League final hosts for next four seasons

THE next four Champions League finals from 2022-2025 will be hosted by St. Petersburg, Istanbul, London and Munich respectively, European soccer’s governing body European Football Association (UEFA) said on Friday.

The Krestovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg was scheduled to stage the 2021 final. However, due to the postponement and reallocation of the 2020 final to Lisbon because of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Europe, the final hosts were pushed back by a year, with St. Petersburg now hosting the 2022 final.

Istanbul, which lost the 2021 final hosting rights to Porto to allow a limited number of fans to attend the match, will instead stage the showpiece game in 2023.

Munich, originally scheduled to be the venue for the 2023 final, will now host the match in 2025 while London’s Wembley Stadium will retain the rights for the 2024 final.

Bilbao and Dublin, who were unable to stage matches at this year’s European Championship, agreed a settlement with the UEFA executive committee and will host the Europa League final in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

Bilbao will also host the women’s Champions League final in 2024.

“We were all disappointed when the COVID-19 pandemic saw the four UEFA EURO 2020 games moved away from Dublin so this really is something to look forward to just three years from now,” Football Association of Ireland chief executive Jonathan Hill said in a statement.

“The 2024 UEFA Europa League final will be a landmark event with huge economic benefits for Dublin and for Ireland along with the boost, it will give our game in the buildup to the final.”

Next year’s Europa league final will be played in Seville, with Budapest set to host the 2023 title decider for the second-tier European club tournament. — Reuters

Oosthuizen keeps his cool to retain Open lead

SANDWICH, England — South African Louis Oosthuizen held his nerve to lead the British Open by one shot after a gripping third round played out in bright sunshine at Royal St. George’s on Saturday.

Oosthuizen, the 2010 Open champion, had moved serenely to 13 under par with a birdie at the ninth hole before two bogeys, his second and third of the tournament, halted his progress.

Americans Jordan Spieth and Collin Morikawa joined him in a three-way tie for the lead but Oosthuizen then sank a 10-foot birdie putt at the par-three 16th to move back to the top of the leaderboard and carded a 69 to finish at 12 under.

“There’s lots of golf left, but it was so great with all the fans there,” Oosthuizen told reporters. “It felt like it was a Sunday afternoon really when I made the putt and I was taking the lead.

“I had a few loose swings before that on my iron shots and sort of needed that little boost and made a really good swing on 16 and a few good ones coming in.”

Oosthuizen, 38, has finished second in six major championships since his triumph at St. Andrews 11 years ago.

“A lead is not like you can just hang tight and just hit a few shots coming in,” he said. “You need to still play proper golf and place the ball really well to avoid bogeys.”

CLOSEST CHALLENGER
Morikawa emerged as Oosthuizen’s closest challenger, recovering from a poor start to collect four birdies and sign for a 68 that left him on 11 under.

“To be honest, you build a game plan and we see what we need to do all the way in the tournament and I stick to it,” he told reporters.

Morikawa won last year’s PGA Championship at the age of 23.

“Obviously, being in a final round at a major is different, but I’m going to try and keep it as similar as possible to every other tournament I’ve played,” he added.

Spieth, bidding to lift the Claret Jug for the second time, racked up four early birdies and another one at the 10th took him to 12 under.

The 27-year-old’s putter went cold on the back nine, however, a dropped shot at the 11th halting his momentum before he bogeyed the last two holes in a round of 69 to finish at nine under.

Canadian Corey Conners put together a sparkling 66 to get to eight under alongside American Scottie Scheffler, one ahead of Spain’s Jon Rahm, Canadian Mackenzie Hughes and South African Dylan Frittelli.

US Open champion Rahm eked out three birdies on the back nine in a battling 68.

“Really good round. Played good golf. Had some really good highlights,” the Spanish world number two told reporters.

American world number one Dustin Johnson’s challenge faded with a disappointing 73 that left him at four under, while his compatriot Brooks Koepka struggled to a patchy 72 and the four-times major champion ended at three under.

Defending champion Shane Lowry made a gutsy 69 to get to five under but the Irishman conceded he was probably too far behind the leaders to retain the title.

“I’m not sure I can win from here, but I’m proud of myself the way I battled.” Lowry told reporters.” — Reuters

Jrue Holiday’s turn

“The series doesn’t start until the road team wins” is a phrase so well worn in National Basketball Association circles as to be labeled a cliché. It also happens to be wrong; it smacks of disrespect of higher seeds who worked hard to claim home court advantage in the playoffs, as well as of the system itself set up to reward regular season performance. In the 2021 Finals, it was particularly dismissive of the efforts of both the Suns and the Bucks in protecting their turf; that the home squad won every game in the best-of-seven affair through the first four matches is a rarity reflective of their exertions.

To no one’s surprise, both protagonists gave their all in Game Five yesterday. The Suns struck early, buoyed by the 16,562-strong crowd at the newly minted Footprint Center; All-Star Devin Booker led the attack that put the hosts up by 16 after one quarter. The Bucks, however, clawed back promptly, managing to not just erase the deficit, but claim the advantage by three at the half and by double digits after three periods. And while the inevitable comeback kept scores close in the crunch, the visitors preserved the lead at the buzzer. Nope, the series didn’t just start as a result. But, yes, it may well end in the next outing.

As much as the offense seemed to claim the game for the Bucks, though, one stellar defensive stand again ensured the win. Two-time Most Valuable Player awardee Giannis Antetokounmpo made the decisive play in Game Four, and it was teammate Jrue Holiday’s turn yesterday. With 22 ticks left in the payoff period and the Suns down by one, Booker appeared to be the perfect candidate to frame the outcome. Looking to add to his 40 markets, he drove left to the lane against noted leech P.J. Tucker. As he stopped to pull up, the All-Defensive First Team member made a timely swipe from the weak side, and then consummated it in the ensuing possession with an outstanding pass for a clinching oop and and-one.

If there’s any silver lining for the Suns, it’s that they have an extra day to recover from the disappointing loss. The last two contests were close, but, unfortunately, they couldn’t close. Certainly, they have to be a little worried, having suffered three straight setbacks and needing to win in Game Six just to extend the series. Yesterday, all the stars showed up, and they wound up being on the short end of the stick — in the process wasting a second consecutive 40-point tally from Booker. Of course, if anyone can keep spirits high, it’s head coach Monty Williams; not for nothing was he voted by his peers as Coach of the Year. In any case, they have no choice. They need to win if they don’t want to go home. Period.

 

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

‘Long COVID’ fears grow in UK as curbs end and Delta surges

REUTERS/HANNAH MCKAY
People embrace each other by the National COVID Memorial wall beside St Thomas’ hospital in London, United Kingdom, April 8, 2021. — REUTERS/HANNAH MCKAY

FOR ABOUT 1 million people across the UK coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) didn’t just go away. Instead, it lingered, causing exhaustion, shortness of breath, cognitive issues and other health problems.

With England preparing to lift virtually all restrictions even as infections are surging again, scientists are concerned that the numbers impacted by what has become known as “long COVID” will climb much higher.

In a bid to understand more, the UK’s National Institute for Health Research on Sunday announced about 20 million pounds ($27.5 million) in funding for 15 studies analyzing the causes of long COVID and its physical and mental health impacts.

Britain’s rapid immunization campaign has fully vaccinated 53.2% of the UK population, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker, prompting the government to declare that the link between infections and hospitalizations has been “weakened.” Prime Minister Boris Johnson says people must learn to live with coronavirus.

But millions still remain vulnerable, and those who have endured symptoms for weeks, months — or more than a year — say the long COVID threat is being overlooked as policy makers focus on headline figures of cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

As the more contagious delta variant spreads, other countries attempting to manage the next phase of their pandemic will likely find themselves facing a similar dilemma.

BEDRIDDEN BY COVID
“When the government talks about opening up, there have been no references to long COVID,” said Christina Barratt, a 51-year-old ex-sales manager in Manchester who first experienced COVID symptoms in late March 2020.

Prioritizing vaccination for vulnerable older age groups means a lower percentage of young Britons have had their shots in time for the ending of curbs. That concerns Ms. Barratt. “Young people feel invincible but this can really happen to anyone,” she said.

Ms. Barratt said she was bedridden for months after contracting COVID, at times so weak she couldn’t roll over or move. Sometimes, she said, it felt like she was comatose even though she was awake. During this time Ms. Barratt lost her job and has since faced new symptoms, including numbness, pins and needles and chronic fatigue.

For Ms. Barratt, one of the biggest difficulties is communicating her plight to others, including doctors and even family and friends. “The illness becomes part of who you are,” she said.

While the government has defended its plan, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said cases could reach as high as 100,000 per day and England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty warned that there could be an increase in long COVID, especially in younger people. The UK on Friday held out the possibility of restoring some restrictions later in the year.

LONG-TERM FEARS
The UK strategy has been sharply criticized. More than 120 scientists co-signed a letter in the Lancet medical journal on July 7, warning that rising infections could leave hundreds of thousands of people with illness and disability “for decades to come.” International experts joined their British counterparts online to sound a further warning on July 16.

An estimated 962,000 people, or 1.5% of the population, have experienced self-reported long COVID symptoms in the UK, according to data from the Office for National Statistics published earlier this month. More than a third of those said they’ve suffered for more than a year.

Separately, an Imperial College London study published in June found that 38% of people who caught the virus reported one or more symptoms lasting at least 12 weeks. Researchers estimated that, overall, more than 2 million adults in England may have had long COVID so far.

The funding announced on Sunday will help explore the broad range of long COVID symptoms, studying everything from the oxygen absorbed by the lungs to brain function to the level of care and support that should be provided.

The prevalence of the condition known as “brain fog” is one of dozens of symptoms that experts say justify calls for a national screening program. Dennis Chan, a principal research fellow at University College London, pointed to the way viruses like SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, affect the brain.

“We have never seen anything like this in terms of the sheer scale,” Mr. Chan said in a briefing with reporters.

Meanwhile, new cases of long COVID seems to be on the rise. The ZOE COVID Study estimates there are currently 500 new cases of long COVID a day in the UK among unvaccinated people.

“Vaccines have massively reduced severe infections and post-vaccination COVID is a much milder disease for most people,” Tim Spector, lead scientist on the study and a professor of genetic epidemiology at King’s College London said. “The main concern is now the risk of long COVID.” — Bloomberg

Thailand expands lockdown areas as COVID-19 cases rise

REUTERS

BANGKOK — Thailand on Sunday announced an expansion of coronavirus restrictions that include travel curbs, mall closures and a night-time curfew to three more provinces after the country reported a third consecutive day of record case numbers.

The country reported 11,397 infections and 101 deaths on Sunday, bringing the cumulative total to 403,386 cases and 3,341 fatalities, the vast majority from an outbreak since early April that is being fueled by the highly transmissible Alpha and Delta COVID-19 variants.

Shopping malls will be closed and a 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew will be imposed from Tuesday onwards in Chonburi, Ayutthaya and Chachoengsao provinces, an announcement on the official Royal Gazette on Sunday showed.

Bangkok and nine other provinces have already been under these restrictions, the toughest in more than a year, since last Monday, as the country battles its longest-running and most severe outbreak so far.

The government earlier said it was planning to introduce more restrictions on movement as the surging number of cases, which continue to rise despite the partial lockdowns in high-risk areas, had stretched healthcare capacity and health officials warned that the severe outbreak could continue for months. — Reuters

US accuses Iran of trying to deflect blame for nuclear talks impasse

PIXABAY

WASHINGTON/CAIRO — The United States on Saturday accused Tehran of an “outrageous” effort to deflect blame for the impasse in Iran nuclear talks and denied that any agreement had been reached on a prisoner swap.

Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Abbas Araqchi, said earlier on Twitter that the next round of negotiations in Vienna must wait until the new Iranian administration takes office in August but insisted that a prisoner exchange could take place quickly if the United States and Britain would stop linking it with the nuclear issue.

Indirect US-Iranian talks on reviving the 2015 deal have been on hold since the last round ended on June 20, and Araqchi’s comments confirmed that Tehran will not return to the table before President-elect Ebrahim Raisi takes over.

“We’re in a transition period as a democratic transfer of power is under way in our capital. Vienna talks must thus obviously await our new administration,” he tweeted.

US State Department spokesman Ned Price said: “These comments are an outrageous effort to deflect blame for the current impasse.” “We stand ready to return to Vienna to complete work on a mutual return to the JCPOA once Iran has made the necessary decisions,” Mr. Price said, referring to diplomatic efforts to get both countries back to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

That is the nuclear accord that former President Donald Trump abandoned and his successor, President Joseph R. Biden, seeks to revive.

Mr. Araqchi also urged the United States and Britain to stop linking any exchange of prisoners with the nuclear deal. “Ten prisoners on all sides may be released tomorrow if US&UK fulfil their part of a deal,” he said.

In response, Mr. Price said: “With respect to the comments on the Americans whom Iran has unjustly held against their will, we see just another cruel effort to raise the hopes of their families … There is no agreed deal yet.”

“We had been engaged in indirect talks on the detainees in the context of the Vienna process, and the delay in restarting that process is not helping,” Mr. Price added. “While it would be more effective to make progress if we were meeting in Vienna, we are also prepared to continue with talks on detainees during this period.”

Iran, which is holding a handful of Iranian-Americans, has been accused by rights activists of arresting dual nationals to try to extract a concession from other countries. Iran has dismissed the charge.

Iran said earlier this week that it was holding talks on securing the release of Iranian prisoners in American jails and other countries over violations of US sanctions.

In May, Washington denied a report by Iranian state television that the countries had reached a prisoner swap deal in exchange for the release of $7 billion in frozen Iranian oil funds under US sanctions in other countries.

The hiatus in nuclear talks, which US and European officials attribute to hard-line Mr. Raisi’s election, has raised questions about next steps if the talks hit a dead end. — Reuters

How fashion entrepreneurs can stand out in e-commerce 

By Patricia Mirasol 

Future-facing brands put customer experience first. A 2021 Shopify Plus report on the fashion industry noted that “sticky” brands with loyal customers are agile in how they deliver their customer experience — whether that’s aligning themselves to a social cause, meeting customers where they are, or hiring influencers to represent their brand on social media. 

The Canadian enterprise e-commerce platform also noted that the global e-commerce segment of fashion and apparel will grow at a compound annual rate of 10.6% until 2022. 

Fashion entrepreneurs can have a slice of this pie by differentiating their brand, finding reliable partners, and strengthening ties with their customer base, said Sabina L. Vergara, chief commercial officer of Ninja Van Philippines, a logistics and courier company. 

“Despite the uncertainties ahead, now is a good time to do your due diligence and plan how to position your online fashion store for new shopping habits and established retail behaviors,” she told BusinessWorld in an e-mail interview. “Focus on what’s under your control: your product, the shopping experience, and fast shipping with a good delivery partner.” 

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE
One social cause that has emerged strong from the coronavirus pandemic is the “buy less, buy better” attitude toward fashion. 

Analytics firm Kantar, which identified shopping trends for 2021, found that 75% of Filipino shoppers seek out brands that offer ways to offset their environmental impact. Red Havas, the public relations arm of communications agency Havas Ortega, also found eco-activism to have gained traction this year, especially among Gen Zs who try to lessen their impact on the environment by buying local and reusing rather than repurchasing. 

The resurgence of thrift shops among local Instagram accounts is a manifestation of this trend. 

Another draw for Filipino online shoppers is free shipping, Ms. Vergara said. A 2020 Twitter report on Filipino online shopping habits found that free parcel delivery was the leading driver of purchase decisions, compelling 67% of Pinoy shoppers to make a purchase. 

Microentrepreneurs who cannot afford free shipping could provide discount vouchers on a customer’s next purchase, said Ms. Vergara. “They may also try using a cashback promotional strategy, or providing an extra 5-10% off offer for mailing list subscribers and repeat customers,” she added. “This provides the opportunity for microentrepreneurs to strengthen their ties with current customers.” 

A third consideration, Ms. Vergara told BusinessWorld, is flexible payment modes. “We observe that nine out of 10 deliveries are still cash-on delivery items. Customers prefer to see their orders before parting with their cash,” she said. “Cash on delivery is still the preferred method at the moment and probably in the foreseeable future.” 

BRAND DIFFERENTIATION
Brands will also do well to invest in social media, as fashion and social media are a match made in e-commerce heaven, as per a March 2021 Shopify Plus article. An effective marketing strategy, the article added, is leveraging product-centric content with mainstream influencer marketing and micro-influencers. 

“With Filipinos spending so much time on their smartphones, memes have become the currency of viral marketing in the country,” Ms. Vergara said. “The more meme-able your marketing strategy is, the better.” 

Entrepreneurs can differentiate and showcase their brands through the e-commerce features social media platforms have created, such as Facebook Shops, Buyable Pins, and Instagram Shops. These allow users to visit a brand’s profile, browse through the products, and buy items from within the platform. 

Examples of Filipino retailers that have taken advantage of Instagram Shops are Sole Academy, Commonwealth, and Beyond the Beach. 

Ms. Vergara also advised leveraging TikTok for organic content marketing. 

“Clothes sellers can make… video-style TikTok videos showing how your items look and fit in real life,” said Ms. Vergara. “If you design accessories, walk viewers through your design and manufacturing process.” 

Those who have no resources for manufacturing, meanwhile, may avail of white label products — or generic, mass-manufactured goods that are sold to resellers — and then customize them with their logo and brand colors. 

RELIABLE PARTNERSHIPS
Setting up shop on social media for free has been made possible by the C2C model (or the business model where customers can trade with each other). Although this model is limited to microentrepreneurs as it deals with smaller and less frequent deliveries, Ms. Vergara advised looking for an e-commerce logistics partner that can handle on-demand and scheduled deliveries. An ideal logistics partner, she added, is one with services that can scale and keep up with a brand’s growth. 

With e-commerce competition getting fierce, and customer expectations continually being reshaped by real-time services, fulfillment speed is a piece of the customer service jigsaw that can help a brand stand out.

Australia, under lockdown, reports slight dip in COVID-19 cases

SYDNEY – Australia’s two largest states on Sunday reported slight declines in new COVID-19 infections, prompting authorities to say it could be days before tough lockdown measures showed progress in containing the spread of the Delta variant.

The country’s most populous city, Sydney, and all of Victoria state – totaling nearly half the 25 million national population – are under stay-home orders after a flare-up of the highly infectious virus strain began last month.

New South Wales (NSW) state, of which Sydney is the capital, reported 105 new cases in the previous day, down from 111 the day before, while Victoria logged 16 new cases, down from 19.

NSW also recorded an additional death from the virus, taking the total to four since the start of the year and the national total to 914 since the pandemic began.

“Working together we will start to see those numbers nudge, and are throwing all of our resources and efforts to making that happen,” said NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian at a televised news conference.

“We want to make sure that we allow families and businesses in particular to bounce back as soon as we can and that is why we are throwing everything at it in the next two weeks.”

A day earlier, Berejiklian tightened restrictions on the city of five million people, including a shutdown of all building and property maintenance works and bans on some 600,000 people in the worst-affected suburbs from leaving their immediate neighbourhood for work.

The construction shutdown would mean up to 500,000 people were unable to work, local media reported, including those involved with major civil works projects, although the government says workers who are stood down will still receive wages via relief payments.

Of particular concern to authorities is the number of infectious people circulating in the community before being diagnosed, which stood at 27 on Sunday, roughly in line with recent days. Berejiklian said it appeared unlikely the number would be near zero by a July 30 target in order to lift restrictions.

She added that the number would likely begin falling in five days “because there is a lag in the data” and that she would not rule out changing restrictions further.

Neighbouring Victoria, with 7 million people under a five-day lockdown scheduled to end on Tuesday, said all 16 new cases were linked to known chains of transmission.

“It is unfolding as we had hoped it would but that is not to say that any extra case is good news,” said Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews.

“It is too early for us to determine whether we will be able to come out of this lockdown at midnight on Tuesday,” he added, noting that one of the new cases was in a country town 540 km (335 miles) from Melbourne, indicating rapid geographic spread.

Australia avoided the high infection and fatality numbers of many other countries in the initial stages of the pandemic due to swift border restrictions, stay-home orders and economic stimulus.

But a year and a half on, the federal government is under pressure due a sluggish vaccine rollout, blamed by some experts on changing regulatory advice for the AstraZeneca vaccine and limited supply of the Pfizer Inc drug.

Just over 10% of Australia’s 25 million people are fully vaccinated, a fraction of the rates in the United States and Britain. – Reuters

Thai youth activists to go ahead with protest despite gatherings ban

BANGKOK – Thai youth activists vowed to stage a protest on Sunday to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, despite a nation-wide ban on public gatherings imposed by the government amid surging coronavirus cases.

Youth-led demonstrations last year attracted hundreds of thousands of people across the country, but their momentum has stalled after authorities began cracking down on rallies and detaining protest leaders, and after new waves of COVID-19 infections broke out.

Last year protests also broke traditional taboos by openly criticizing the king, an offence under the country’s strict lese majeste law that makes insulting or defaming the king, queen, heir and regent punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Most of the protest leaders who were detained have been released on bail and some took part in anti-government protests last month.

“We have to drive out Prayuth even if my bail is revoked,” said one protest leader, Arnon Nampa, ahead of the planned Sunday march from Democracy Monument to Government House in Bangkok.

The protest will also mark the one-year anniversary of the first large-scale street protests led by youth groups demanding Prayuth resign, a new constitution and a major reform to the monarchy.

The Thai government has earlier imposed a new nationwide ban on public gatherings of more than five people which carries a maximum penalty of a two-year jail term or a fine of up to 40,000 baht ($1,220), or both.

The country reported a third straight day of record new cases on Sunday.

Police urged people not to join the protest and warned that those who breached the law and cause unrest will face charges.

Street protests against the prime minister have been held in recent weeks by several groups, including Prayuth’s former political allies, as frustrations grow over the mounting wave of infections and prolonged pandemic damage to the economy. – Reuters

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