CHAIRMAN & PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
(Town Hall 2014, January 2, 2014, 8:00AM, REX Multi-Purpose Hall)
The preceding year as elicited from the year end business review sessions brought about the following developments:
• The suspension of operations of several franchisees of RBSI namely Tacloban, Legaspi, Naga, Angeles and Shaw Boulevard due respectively to the substantial devastation of the buildings for Tacloban, processing of papers preterminated by the previous franchisees for Legaspi, Naga, Angeles and Shaw before RBSI could assume management;
A.1 Measures are being strategized on how Rex – Tacloban whose staff is now with Rex Cebu could be resurrected;
A.2 Once the papers are organized Naga, Legaspi and Angeles will continue with its operations even on the same spaces previously occupied;
B. Decline in the sales in Tertiary and Law perceived to be brought about by the following:
B.1 Decline in sales from National Book Stores (National) perceived to be brought about by the change of ownership mixtures on NBS where SM now has substantial shares;
B.1.1Based on the year end presentation sating that National reportedly claims that our publications are top sellers and that the former values its continuing partnership with Rex, it is imperative on our part to specifically study the identities of these sought after publications;
B.1.2 Upon ascertaining the same, correlate them with the inventory of Rex outlets to have a realistic picture of the market terrain;
B.1.3 A realistic picture of the market terrain by Marketing would in turn provide us the sales strategies that should be undertaken to provide curative remedies instead of sweepingly declaring that a sales study with the concomitant utilization of time and budget should be conducted without a predetermined direction of this study;
B.2 It was unearthed that copyright violation as exemplified by xeroxing of our tertiary and law books has reached sophistication that our titles could illegally be duplicated with ease;
B.2.1 Availing of raids through the National Bureau of Investigation similar to past actions should be revived followed by legal prosecution;
B.2.1.1 A particular school in Pasay which reportedly is flagrantly violating the copyright law should be raided and prosecuted;
B.2.2 Campaign should be provided through our brochures that copyright violations are illegal acts and that the same shall be prosecuted;
C. That a policy should be made that there should be a time limitation within which a client could return the products placed to them on consignment otherwise the items placed thereto would be deemed sold as what had happened with a school in Palawan;
C.1 Incentives or awards to sales personnel based on false declarations should not only be a basis of invalidation and thus reimbursable or refundable but a basis of civil and/or criminal actions;
D. It was observed that Marketing has greatly enhanced its capability and that pursuant to their study our dominance in law is perceived to be subsiding thus resolutions had been made on the following:
D.1There should be a separate advertisement for legal publications under the usual “trusted partners” theme by citing the role Rex Book Store has played in enhancing the legal profession for decades now through the proliferation of legal materials authored by high powered legal luminaries beginning with Justice Edgardo L. Paras, Atty. Luis B. Reyes, Professor Hector De Leon, Father Joaquin Bernas and others with similar stature whose lucidity and easily understood legal expressions help students to easily comprehend the difficult questions of law thus helping them to become successful lawyers, practitioners and /or government functionaries;
D.1.1 Pardon the exaggeration, Rex could be considered as a”National Treasure”.
E. In view of statistical data showing that tardiness instead of being abated is progressing, measures will be undertaken to rectify or cause adjustment on the rules and the placement of accountability on the associates’ immediate superiors and department heads concerned;
F. Exit interviews should be made more specific to enhance management policies;
G.Printing with its inherent complexity needs constant training like the impending program for January;
G.1 Short run printing machinery is also being studied;
H. That while mandate is given to Rex Digital to further improve its market share it should not be construed as giving prominence over that of the traditional print materials which we should continue to uphold to preserve our traditional printing operation;
H.1To give realization to the above course of action, the rightful approach, as studies from experts would attest, is to adopt the hybrid or blended approach where the significant features of the digital and traditional print materials are blended;
I. It is suggested that the speeches during the town hall be documented under a presentable handy appearance for posterity and easy reference.