SM wins Retail Asia's Best of the Best Awards
It was a wonderful way to celebrate one’s 50th Anniversary when SM’s Retail Group received the Best of the Best Award during the recent 2008 Retail Asia-Pacific Top 500 Awards in the Venetian Hotel-Resort in Macau, making it one of the region’s premiere retailers. During the same event, it also won the Gold Award as the Philippines’ top retailer for the fifth straight year in a row.
Spearheaded by Retail Asia, the prestigious Singapore-based magazine five years ago, the Top 500 ranks retailers in 14 Asia-Pacific economies on sales turnover and sales productivity. The ranking continues to highlight companies that have become the movers and shakers in the region’s retail sector.
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 2008 edition. The latter included Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The top three retailers from each of the countries in the Asia-Pacific region were awarded Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards during the event and the Best of the Best were selected from the Gold Awardees. Other Best of the Best awardees included Matahari of Indonesia, GCH Retail of Malaysia, and NTUC Fairprice of Singapore. Local retailers cited included Mercury Drug and Rustans, which won the Silver and Bronze awards, respectively for the Philippines.
In a “year that was subjected to an enormous repertoire of ups and downs . . . Asian economies soared to a fifth straight year of growth in 2007,” says Steven H L Goh, executive chairman of Retail Asia. “And Asia’s retail industry prospered and grew. “
“The clear inference is the tremendous resilience, tenacity, and entrepreneurial spirit of Asia-Pacific’s top retailers in coping with market fluctuations,” he adds. “It is also a clear testimony to their strategic and tactical capability in successful retailing – forging the compelling value proposition for their customers and delivering the best possible customer experience at all times.”
“We are happy to celebrate our 50th year as a retailer this year,” says Tessie Sy-Coson, president of SM’s Retail Group. “Our group continues to innovate and reinvent ourselves in an increasingly competitive marketplace. We are still excited about our prospects in the dynamic retail industry.”
Through the opening of new stores, renovations of major stores, and the introduction of new merchandising concepts, SM continues to make shopping at its department store chain an exciting lifestyle experience.
New innovations in store design have been evident at the newly renovated stores at the SM supermalls in North-EDSA, Bacoor, and Megamall. The design at the new Megamall store allows customers to scan merchandise easily and make easy selections, leading to a more rewarding shopping experience. Another major store, SM Cubao, is currently undergoing a major renovation to enhance the shopping experience, and there are similar plans for minor renovations in stores in SM City Fairview and SM City Manila.
The expansion program of the SM malls this year will again provide space to the Department Store and the retail group in the metro and provincial areas. SM City Marikina opened in September, and two other malls in Rosales, Pangasinan in Northern Luzon and Baliwag, Bulacan are expected to open within the year.
SM has 32 department stores, 35 supermarkets, 11 hypermarkets, and about 200 smaller retail stores in formats that serve niche markets. These include 43 appliance centers, 18 home stores, 19 toy superstores, 31 fashion discount stores, 10 sports stores, two baby specialty stores, and five stores showcasing Philippine products.
SM also has 39 ACE Hardware stores, a franchise of US based ACE Hardware, and 175 Watsons stores, a joint venture with the AS Watsons group of Hong Kong.
More growth is also expected in SM’s supermarket business with the expansion of its Save More outlets. Save More, also called Your Neighborhood SM Supermarket, is located outside the SM malls and aimed at bringing SM’s supermarketing experience to more customers. There are currently nine Save More Supermarkets, with four more expected to open within the year.
As SM celebrates its 50th Anniversary as a retailer this year, it approaches this milestone with a new vitality and energy to serve a new generation of shoppers, as well as the many customers that have made it part of their lives.
