YakitoriQ: The Newest Barbecue Concept in Town

(L-R) Ms. Judy King Tecson, Senior Vice President, BPI,Ms. Sapna A.Uttamchandani, Vice President/Treasurer, Esquire International Financing, Inc.,Mr. Ramon Sy, Vice Chairman, Asia United Bank, Cory Quirino (TV/Radio Host) ,Mr. Timmy G. Tan, Chairman SK Techno-lube Corporation,Allied Bank, Mr. Ashok Uttamchandani, Chairman, Esquire International Financing, Inc.,Ms.Tin Patrimonio (Celebrity, Pinoy Big Brother housemate) , Rajan Uttamdanchani (CEO, Esquire Financing Inc.), Mildred Caballero (President, Tradecon)

Attending  business expos and events is one good way to find out what is the current trend of the industry and innovative products and services in store for the consumer in the future.

Last May 12, the 4th Philippine Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) and Franchise Expo with the theme “Grow Your Business” was presented by Tradecon Inc. and Esquire Financing Inc. at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC).

For three days, it brought together various businesses and brands which included franchising, direct selling, retailing and networking. Randell Tiongson, business columnist and financial adviser, and Chinkee Tan, TV and radio host and wealth coach, gave motivational talks on how change in the Filipino mindset can help empower  each one in attaining our financial goals. Esquire Financing, Inc. also presented its service, providing intelligent funding and strategic guidance with its principle that SMEs should never remain SME’s because every business has the brimming capacity to become large. 

One of the highlight of the event was the unveiling of the newest barbecue concept in town: YakitoriQ!

YakitoriQ is the brainchild of entrepreneur-business consultant Mr. Jorge Noel Wieneke III, dubbed “Mr. KaAsenso” of PLDT, and known for his advocacy on entrepreneurial education for those who wish to put up their “mini negosyo” or have plans to expand their business.

Mr. Wieneke was a former advertising guy and was responsible for putting up “Potato Corner,” the country’s first flavored French Fries brand that revolutionized the food cart business. He is also a founding member of the Association of Filipino Franchisers, Inc., one of the biggest franchise associations in the Philippines today, and teaches Applied Entrepreneurship at the Ateneo de Manila’s Center for Continuous Education (CCE).

The company infuses a little modification on the popular yakitori food. Yakitori is a barbeque in Japan that even with the modification is still Japanese food--- on stick, on this case.
 
For only P16 per stick, one can enjoy the real-meat YakitoriQ. One stick with rice is already fulfilling at P26 or you may want to taste the original or American version on two separate sticks with rice for P42. They also introduce chicken isaw, pork isaw and pork tenga in yakitori style.

You can find YakitoriQ starting next month in Victory Mall, MCU, Greenhills shopping center, Tutuban Center, in Food Street, St. Francis Square and Robinson’s Ermita.

UNIQLO Launches Recovery Project in Japan

 

To support the government and private efforts to fasten the recovery of the many areas in Japn that was struck by the killer quake last year, UNIQLO announces the launch of its next phase of assistance to the revitalization of communities in the Tohoku Region that were most affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck on March 11, 2011. Under this project, known as the UNIQLO Recovery Assistance Project, the company will partner with five NGOs for three years and open new stores in the hardest-hit communities.

Fast Retailing Group companies led by UNIQLO have been actively working with affected local communities since soon after the disaster struck, donating funds and relief supplies, as well as sending volunteer staff to distribute clothes to people in need. Working directly with these communities over the last year has given UNIQLO a clear understanding of their immediate needs and hopes for the future. The UNIQLO Recovery Assistance Project was shaped by this experience. Through this project, UNIQLO aims to provide long-term support to communities in need and make a contribution to revitalizing Japan.

UNIQLO will work with five NGOs to support programs in devastated communities in prefectures such as Miyagi, Iwate, and Fukushima. The focus of these programs is to help these communities rebuild, create employment and become independent of aid. With this in mind, UNIQLO will open temporary stores in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture and Kamaishi in Iwate Prefecture --- two of the hardest-hit communities. UNIQLO will also reopen a store in the Haramachi district of Minamisoma in Fukushima Prefecture which was temporarily closed following the March 11 disaster.

UNIQLO is committed to contributing a total of 300 million yen (around 3.7 million USD) to NGOs working on the ground to help devastated communities rebuild and become self-sufficient. Each of UNIQLO’s five NGO partners will receive around 20 million yen a year for three years. A portion of sales at all UNIQLO stores in Japan in March 2012 will be donated to this Project. UNIQLO is also offering customers the opportunity to directly participate by launching a three-month donation drive at all UNIQLO stores in Japan, starting March 1. In addition, UNIQLO and the Fast Retailing Group are planning to offer employees opportunities to work as volunteers at partner NGOs.

UNIQLO’s partner organizations are JEN; ADRA Japan（Adventist Development and Relief Agency Japan）; ・    Specified Non-Profit Organization International Volunteer Center of YAMAGATA; PlaNet Finance Japan and Tohoku Relationship Capitals

While visiting disaster areas to distribute clothes, UNIQLO volunteers were often told by local people that they looked forward to the day when UNIQLO returned to open a store in their neighborhoods. Now, UNIQLO is pleased to be able to open temporary stores in some of the hardest hit communities. Through these stores, UNIQLO will offer local people a specially selected lineup of great, affordable clothes, as well as new employment opportunities. UNIQLO are honored to welcome customers to these stores: UNIQLO Kesennuma Store; Kamaishi Store and Haramachi Store.

UNIQLO is a brand of Fast Retailing Co. (FR), a leading global Japanese retail holding company that designs, manufactures and sells clothing under five brands: Comptoir des Cotonniers, g.u., Princesse tam.tam, Theory, and UNIQLO. With global sales of 820 billion yen for the 2011 fiscal year ending August 31, 2011, FR is the world’s fourth largest apparel retail company and UNIQLO is Japan’s leading specialty retailer.

Today UNIQLO has more than 1,000 stores worldwide, namely in the U.S., U.K. France, Russia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Korea, as well as Japan. UNIQLO continues to open large-scale stores in some of the world's most important cities and locations, as part of its ongoing efforts to solidify its status as a truly global brand. UNIQLO operates an integrated business model under which it designs, manufactures, markets and sells high-quality, casual apparel in line with its ‘Made for All’ philosophy.

With a corporate statement committed to changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and change the world, FR is dedicated to creating great clothing with new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere. For more information about UNIQLO and other FR brands, please visit www.uniqlo.com or www.fastretailing.com.