Robinsons enters into hard discount retailing

MANILA, Philippines — Gokongwei-owned Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI) is looking at dominating the hard discount store segment with an aggressive expansion mapped out for O!Save.

RRHI COO Stanley Co told The STAR that the O!Save Trading Philippines Corp. is targeting to grow its network by opening an average of 200 stores every year.

O!Save, a hard discount supermarket chain founded in 2021, currently has over 300 stores in the country.

“We just opened our 300th store a few days ago so I think O!Save is expected to end the year with 400 stores, more or less,” Co said.

‘There are a lot of things that come into play when we open a store. There are so many dependencies. As much as possible this is our target, but sometimes, it gets derailed a bit,” he said.

All of O!Save’s stores are currently situated in Luzon, but Co said the company is open to expanding in Visayas and Mindanao in the future.

“O!Save started in Angeles then moved to Bulacan then moved to Metro Manila by way of our Taytay distribution center. And then the fourth one is about to open in Pangasinan. So the expansion now is going towards north,” he said.

As a hard discount retailer, O!Save offers the lowest possible prices for its products that are focused primarily on basic food, household and personal care.

O!Save said its stores are simple and not larger than needed. It also does not rent stores in expensive locations and also avoids anything, which is not necessary that could potentially increase the sales price of its products.

RRHI, one of the country’s top retailers, entered the hard discount category through a minority stake in O!Save.

RRHI president and CEO Robina Gokongwei-Pe told The STAR that the company is currently pleased with its investment in the hard discount supermarket chain.

She said RRHI also has no plans to increase its stake in O!Save at present.

O!Save’s biggest competitor in the country currently is DALI Everyday Grocery, which is operated by Hard Discount Philippines Inc.

DALI, which started commercial operations in February 2020, was previously eyeing to grow its store network to 900 to 950 by the end of the year.