Gokongwei family ventures into cosmetics business

MANILA, Philippines - Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc., the multi-format retail chain of the Gokongwei family, is pursuing the cosmetics business for the first time as it acquires the operator of Shiseido and Benefit stores in the Philippines.

“Robinsons Retail, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Robinsons Specialty Stores Inc., acquired the assets of Beauty Skinnovations Retail Inc. (BSRI) on Dec. 13,” the firm said in a disclosure to the stock exchange.

BSRI is the operator of eight Shiseido branches and two Benefit stores in several malls in Metro Manila, Cebu and Davao.

“In terms of running the cosmetics business, it is the first [foray] but we have cosmetics in our department stores run by concessionaires,” said Gina Roa-Dipaling, investor relations officer of Robinsons Retail.

“The acquisition is in line with Robinsons Retail’s strategy of expanding into new retail segments,” the firm said, adding that the 10 cosmetics stores will beef up the existing 1,000 branches under its network.

Aside from the stores, the acquisition also involves the right to sell Shiseido and Benefit cosmetics products under a distribution agreement with Luxasia Inc. and L Beauty Luxury Asia Inc.

Luxasia is a distributor of famous fragrance and cosmetics brands in the Philippines while L Beauty markets LVMH beauty brands nationwide.

The acquisition will be completed in February, Roa-Dipaling said, adding that there are plans to expand the business moving forward.

Benefit Cosmetics Llc is a San Francisco, California-based firm initially founded as a beauty boutique that specialized in quick-fix products. It is now a global beauty brand with more than 2,000 counters in over 30 countries.

For its part, hair care and cosmetics manufacturer Shiseido Co. Ltd. is the largest cosmetics firm in Japan and fourth largest worldwide. It has more than 25,000 store outlets worldwide offering a wide array of skin care, makeup and fragrance lines.

The recent deal is the second acquisition of Robinsons Retail since listing in the local bourse last month. The company earlier bought into Tarlac-based EZ Mart and EZ Supermarket chain to expand its presence in Central and Northern Luzon.

Robinsons Retail is the Philippines’ second largest retail operating under nine formats: Robinsons Supermarket, Robinsons Department Store, Ministop, South Star Drug, Handyman Do it Best, True Value, Howards Storage World, Robinsons Appliances, Toys R Us, Saizen and a selection of international fashion apparel.

The firm aims to increase its store network to approximately 1,400 by end-2014. The company, which started operations in 1980, ended 2012 with 912 stores.

The firm reported a consolidated net income of P2.04 billion in January to September, more than double the P894.5 million last year, while consolidated net sales jumped nearly 20 percent to P47.17 billion from P39.43 billion a year ago.

The retail chain debuted in the local bourse last month through a $621-million initial public offering, with further growth hinged on the continued uptick in the economy and the increasing disposable income of the middle class.

Aside from retail, the Gokongwei family is also into budget airline (Cebu Pacific), banking (Robinsons Bank Corp.), property (Robinsons Land), petrochemicals (JG Summit Petrochemicals Corp.), and snacks and beverage (Universal Robina Corp.).