SM receives Retail Asia's Hall of Fame Award

MANILA, Philippines - The SM Retail Group was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame of Retail Asia’s Asia Pacific Top 500 Awards during a gala dinner at the Four Seasons Hotel in Singapore, highlighting its leadership not only in the Philippines, but also in the Asia-Pacific region.

Considered the pinnacle of the Top 500 Awards, the distinction of being inducted into the Hall of Fame is given to retailers who have been awarded the Best of the Best Award over three consecutive years.

Spearheaded by Retail Asia, the prestigious Singapore based magazine, the Top 500 ranks retailers in 14 Asia-Pacific economies on sales turnover and sales productivity. This includes retailers from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Drawing from Euromonitor International’s research and analysis of the retail industry around the world, analysts in the 14 Asia-Pacific economies featured did research for the 2011 edition. The ranking continues to highlight companies that have become the movers and shakers in the region’s retail sector.

The Best of the Best Award is presented to a select group of retailers who rank among the top three in their respective markets, and whom an independent jury has assessed as the crème de la crème among their peers. During the same event, SM received a Gold Award as the Philippines’ top retailer for the eighth year in a row.

“These are retailers whose sales turnover and productivity and sales performance have been superlative in their respective niches, and whose performance towers over industry norms,” says Steven HL Goh, executive chairman of Retail Asia Publishing. “We are proud to salute their performance and present them accolades for their achievement.”

Likewise, as a Gold Awardee, SM is among the Asia-Pacific retailers that have “retained their respective exalted position on account of their business volume and market leadership.”

SM’s aggressive mall expansion program has allowed it to open more stores and communities outside the metro. “Having pioneered bringing world class shopping extensively around the Philippines, we have become part of the communities we serve,” said SM Investments vice chairperson Tessie Sy-Coson.

At the same time, the opening of international retailer Forever 21 at the SM store in Makati’s Business District, as well as ongoing renovations have given SM Department Stores a more contemporary, world class look, making it possible to serve an increasingly glocal or global/local market.

As such, SM now brings great design and great retailing not only to premiere areas in the metro, but also to its provincial outlets as well.    More than that, it sources its merchandise not only from international brands, but also from homegrown suppliers, making its mix more exciting and diverse than ever.

Apart from its 41 department stores strategically located across the Philippines, SM’s Retail Group also has specialty store formats that serve niche markets by focusing on a wide selection of merchandise for each category.

Part of this is the Food Retail Group, which has four types of formats that cater to different types of customers: SM Supermarket, SM Hypermarket, Savemore, and Makro.

It also has other formats like appliance centers, lifestyle stores, fashion discount, and toy superstore, as well as Kultura Filipino, a showcase of the best Philippine products. 

SM also has tie-ups with global brands, a franchise with ACE Hardware, as well as partnerships with Watsons and Forever 21. 

More recently, it signed a joint venture Japan’s Fast Retailing to open Uniqlo stores in the Philippines.