Robinsons eyes 75 to 100 new retail stores

Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI) is expanding its supermarket and drugstore networks, banking on these segments to drive the company’s growth for the rest of the year amid the easing inflation.

RRHI president and CEO Robina Gokongwei-Pe, in an interview with the Inquirer, said they were lining up more store openings to take advantage of the growing demand.

In the food segment, the retailer will open additional 25 to 30 stores this year.

Meanwhile, 60 to 70 new drugstores will be operational before the year ends.

As of end-June, RRHI has 2,401 sites comprising 755 food stores, 1,082 drugstores, 49 department stores, 224 do-it-yourself stores and 291 specialty stores.

Its food portfolio includes Robinson Supermarket, Marketplace, Shopwise and EasyMart.

The company also has 2,100 franchised stores of The Generics Pharmacy (TGP).

Apart from TGP, RRHI also runs Southstar Drug as well as Rose Pharmacy.

“The banners that are growing are food and drugs,” Gokongwei-Pe said.

“We’re bullish. At least the inflation rate has gone down already,” she added.

Inflation eased to 3.3 percent year-on-year in August from 4.4 percent in July, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The latest print is also lower than 5.3 percent reading in August 2023.

Gokongwei-Pe said they were on the lookout for potential brand acquisitions to expand their retail portfolio. She said that in order to pique the company’s interest, the brand must have an established market and solid consumer base.

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She said that venturing into sporting goods could be a good idea given the emerging athletic lifestyle trend since the pandemic.

On Thursday, RRHI opened Spatio, an upscale lifestyle retail center at the Opus Mall in Bridgetowne, Quezon City.

Spatio features a variety of products in food and beverage and fashion categories, among others.

In the first half of this year, the company saw its core earnings improve by 12.1 percent to P2.6 billion as net sales grew by 3 percent to P93.71 billion.

Chief operating officer Stanley Co is set to replace Gokongwei-Pe as the company’s president and CEO by Jan. 1, 2025.

She will move up as chair, replacing her brother Lance Gokongwei, who will remain as board adviser.