SM ranks 3rd among top 5 SEA brands

MANILA, Philippines - SM, the country’s most dominant player in the retail industry, has been named as one of the top five best retail brands in Southeast Asia for 2013 by brand consultancy firm Interbrand.

Interbrand director for brand strategy said during the 22nd National Retail Conference held yesterday that the SM brand placed third in the list of top retail brands in the region.

He said SM got the third place as the brand is “being true to their core proposition of accessibility and convenience and innovating to appeal to a changing and expanding consumer base--for example growing its SaveMore brand and embracing the digital space with its online gift registry.”

SM Department Stores and Hypermarkets, are part of the retail arm of one of country’s largest conglomerates, SM Investments Corp. (SMIC).

The brand has a network of 46 department stores and over 140 grocery outlets across Metro Manila and various provinces around the country, making it accessible and convenient to a growing consumer base.

Interbrand said that to cater to smaller provincial towns, the brand aims to expand its SaveMore brand, which is positioned as a neighborhood store for the more budget conscious buyer.

In the non-food sector, it said the brand has focused on online shopping by offering an online gift registry.

Interbrand said the SM brand has also focused on customer loyalty through the SM Advantage card which rewards customers who shop at various SM offerings.

SM was the only retail brand from the Philippines that made it to the list of best retail brands in the Southeast Asian region.

Singapore’s homegrown retailer FairPrice which has a range of store formats offering gourmet products, electronics and basic household goods and provides an electronic commerce platform, topped the list of best retail brands in the Southeast Asian region.

Malaysian retailer Parkson, which operates 108 stores across four countries in Asia, came in second.

Indonesia’s oldest and largest department store Matahari placed fourth, while Thailand’s hypermart brand Big C got the fifth spot.

The SM Group opened its first ShoeMart store in 1958.

From there, the group under holding firm SMIC has expanded into other sectors such as banking through BDO Unibank Inc., shopping malls through SM Prime Holdings Inc.; retail through SM Retail Inc.; residential development through SM Development Corp.; and tourism and convention centers through SM Hotels and Conventions Corp.