Resto Surfie Bar - Lapu Lapu

Mecky and I were out on a pretty dull Saturday night on Mactan Island when she spotted a bar from the back of the public utility vehicle we were travelling in.

We jumped out and decided to wander in for a look and it was surprising that for a well stocked bar, this place was empty. The bar staff were nice and friendly so I have to wonder, how a bar can be so empty on a Saturday night.

This is not a big place, the decor and facilities were more than adequate and I guess cost a fair whack to set up. This would be a challenge I would like to take on as a marketing project as a retiree.

Mactan is a holiday island so there are holidaymakers interested in an exciting night out. The question I would ask myself is, how could I fill this place? How would a marketer put this place on the map for a good night out?

I would target the young crowd, sure this bar is not in the centre of town but if it is seen as the place to be, people will come. Firstly, I would target the tourist markets of South Koreans and Chinese without neglecting the local Filipinos.

Their wine selection wasn't great, we purchased ourselves a bottle of Medoc, a 2017 vintage that wasn't great. For 1500 PHP ($29.41 USD) you should be expecting a little more but any frequent traveler to the Philippines would know French wine is a little hit and miss.

As a wine drinker, clearly I rate French wine and I especially like the Bordeaux region. I tend to think the French aren't exporting their premium wines to the Philippines. A couple of options Ina couple of price points would be interesting.

So wine options need to be improved, they had the option of an Argentine Malbec but this didn't interest me without a tasting. Without crowds and frequent turnover of wine by the glass, a tasting is out of the question.

A wine stock costs money, we all know that so turnover is important and that generally doesn't attract the young crowd but supplements existing customers. If you are a bar owner, you need to invest in your business and a well stocked bar is paramount.

This is the Philippines so labour is cheap, organizing a pick-up service for discerning clients is possible. This should initially target local customers and then expand to the hotels for foreign tourists. Certainly a business case needs to be explored to decide if such a strategy is viable, if not - drop it.