Our Digital
Transformation
Robinsons Retail’s
Digital Footprint
The last few years have shown a significant uptake in digital ways of shopping and we have long recognized the inevitable rise of the omnichannel shopper, especially in the Philippines which has the fastest growing e-commerce market in Southeast Asia.
Our initial steps into online retail began through our partnerships with established third-party marketplaces, which eventually manifested in the launch of our very own e-commerce sites. While the primary impetus was the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe that e-commerce and digital engagement will continue to increase in relevance for retail, and we are taking progressive steps to take advantage of opportunities to further deepen our presence online and strengthen our infrastructure in technology, such as shifts to secure cloud storage and analytics.
To support our thrust for data-driven decision making, Robinsons Retail is invested in Data Analytics Ventures, Inc. (DAVI), where we own 40% stake. DAVI is a subsidiary of our affiliate JG Summit Holdings, Inc., which provides data solutions to implement precision marketing and gain insights from customer behavior. It currently manages GoRewards, our loyalty program with over 5.3 million members, which was conceived by combining Robinsons Rewards and GetGo, the loyalty program of RRHI affiliate airline company Cebu Pacific. GoRewards points are earned and spent through transactions with our banners and Cebu Pacific, providing greater value to our loyal customers.
Our Digital
Transformation
Robinsons Retail’s
Digital Footprint
The last few years have shown a significant uptake in digital ways of shopping and we have long recognized the inevitable rise of the omnichannel shopper, especially in the Philippines which has the fastest growing e-commerce market in Southeast Asia.
Our initial steps into online retail began through our partnerships with established third-party marketplaces, which eventually manifested in the launch of our very own e-commerce sites. While the primary impetus was the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe that e-commerce and digital engagement will continue to increase in relevance for retail, and we are taking progressive steps to take advantage of opportunities to further deepen our presence online and strengthen our infrastructure in technology, such as shifts to secure cloud storage and analytics.
To support our thrust for data-driven decision making, Robinsons Retail is invested in Data Analytics Ventures, Inc. (DAVI), where we own 40% stake. DAVI is a subsidiary of our affiliate JG Summit Holdings, Inc., which provides data solutions to implement precision marketing and gain insights from customer behavior. It currently manages GoRewards, our loyalty program with over 5.3 million members, which was conceived by combining Robinsons Rewards and GetGo, the loyalty program of RRHI affiliate airline company Cebu Pacific. GoRewards points are earned and spent through transactions with our banners and Cebu Pacific, providing greater value to our loyal customers.
GoRobinsons
Our Customers’ Lifestyle Partner
GoRobinsons (GoR) is our shoppers’ one-stop online shop and lifestyle partner. It was launched in June 2020, when the new dynamic of social distancing and quarantine restrictions made the role of e-commerce all the more crucial to keep serving customers. The e-commerce site is envisioned to eventually serve as a virtual marketplace for all of the group’s retail formats.
In 2021, GoR recorded a 7x growth in gross merchandise value (GMV), with sales primarily coming from food retail. The year ended with 11 banners on GoR, including all our supermarket banners Robinsons Supermarket, The Marketplace, Shopwise, Robinsons Easymart, and No Brand; Robinsons Department Store; Handyman Do It Best; True Value; Toys ‘R’ Us; Shiseido; and Southstar Drug. In the first quarter of 2022, we also launched Robinsons Appliances, Pet Lovers’ Centre, and Daiso Japan on the platform.
GoR has a mobile app, which can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, as well as the website GoRobinsons.ph.
It currently serves customers in Metro Manila and 17 provinces in Luzon and Visayas, with plans to further expand the service coverage to other cities nationwide. Our goal is to bring our customers closer to products and services through leveraging technology that provides a seamless omni-channel experience. The platform is also integrated with the GoRewards Loyalty Program, whose members can earn rewards points if they purchase products through GoR.
Our Customers’ Lifestyle Partner
In 2021, GoR received an overall customer satisfaction (CSAT) score of 73.02% and an average rating of 3.42 with just over a year of operations. Customer satisfaction is a driver for loyalty and a key performance indicator that measures feedback on our customers’ experience during purchase, delivery, and contact with our support team. GoR aims to continuously and significantly improve service levels in 2022. In the first quarter of 2022, GoR’s CSAT score has inched up to 76.69% while the average rating hit 4.08.
Go Robinsons
Our Customers’ Lifestyle Partner
GoRobinsons (GoR) is our shoppers’ one-stop online shop and lifestyle partner. It was launched in June 2020, when the new dynamic of social distancing and quarantine restrictions made the role of e-commerce all the more crucial to keep serving customers. The e-commerce site is envisioned to eventually serve as a virtual marketplace for all of the group’s retail formats.
In 2021, GoR recorded a 7x growth in gross merchandise value (GMV), with sales primarily coming from food retail. The year ended with 11 banners on GoR, including all our supermarket banners Robinsons Supermarket, The Marketplace, Shopwise, Robinsons Easymart, and No Brand; Robinsons Department Store; Handyman Do It Best; True Value; Toys ‘R’ Us; Shiseido; and Southstar Drug. In the first quarter of 2022, we also launched Robinsons Appliances, Pet Lovers’ Centre, and Daiso Japan on the platform.
GoRobinsons (GoR) is our shoppers’ one-stop online shop and lifestyle partner. It was launched in June 2020, when the new dynamic of social distancing and quarantine restrictions made the role of e-commerce all the more crucial to keep serving customers. The e-commerce site is envisioned to eventually serve as a virtual marketplace for all of the group’s retail formats.
In 2021, GoR recorded a 7x growth in gross merchandise value (GMV), with sales primarily coming from food retail. The year ended with 11 banners on GoR, including all our supermarket banners Robinsons Supermarket, The Marketplace, Shopwise, Robinsons Easymart, and No Brand; Robinsons Department Store; Handyman Do It Best; True Value; Toys ‘R’ Us; Shiseido; and Southstar Drug. In the first quarter of 2022, we also launched Robinsons Appliances, Pet Lovers’ Centre, and Daiso Japan on the platform.
Customer Satisfaction in GoRobinsons
In 2021, GoR received an overall customer satisfaction (CSAT) score of 73.02% and an average rating of 3.42 with just over a year of operations. Customer satisfaction is a driver for loyalty and a key performance indicator that measures feedback on our customers’ experience during purchase, delivery, and contact with our support team. GoR aims to continuously and significantly improve service levels in 2022. In the first quarter of 2022, GoR’s CSAT score has inched up to 76.69% while the average rating hit 4.08.
Growsari
Empowering Sari-Sari Store Owners
Growsari is the Philippines’ first tech start-up which provides B2B grocery delivery services to sari-sari store owners through a mobile app, with merchandise sourced from Robinsons Supermarket branches.
In 2021, Growsari principal G2M conducted their Series B fundraising and raised US$30+ million in total funding from global marquee investors like Tencent, Pavilion Capital and IFC among others. In March 2022, Growsari also announced that in its Series C, it also raised US$77.5mn in funding, with KKR leading the round with a US$45mn investment. This brings the company’s total raise to about US$110 million.
RRHI led the online platform’s Series A funding round in 2018, along with JG Digital Equity Ventures, and Wavemaker Partners LLC. We continue to support them by participating in fundraising rounds to maintain our equity in the business.
Through this joint partnership, Growsari promotes inclusive businesses that put micro and small enterprises at the heart of their business model, with merchandise sourced from Robinsons Supermarket branches.
Growsari’s tech infrastructure is all developed in-house, from call center operations to warehouse management, delivery fleet management, customer relationship management, to data analytics. Users simply need to go online to order the items they need, which will then be delivered to their stores the next day.
BeautyMNL
From Online to Offline
Philippines’ leading beauty e-commerce player BeautyMnl launched its first “Shop-in-Shop” concepts at The Marketplace in Shangri-La Plaza and Robinsons Department Store in Robinsons Place Ermita last May, onboarding a lineup of almost 300 SKUs and over a hundred brands, including COSRX, Milani, Puritan’s Pride, and Cetaphil Baby. BeautyMNL is our first digital investment in e-commerce where we currently have 30% stake.
The launch deepens our strategic partnership with BeautyMnL, which began in 2017. The move towards BeautyMnl’s Shop-in-Shop concepts further bolsters our commitment to omnichannel retailing. The new in-store concept in turn widens BeautyMnl’s market reach and enables our shoppers to stock up on self-care staples while discovering exciting new finds from BeautyMnl.
“RRHI’s large and diverse customer base gives us the perfect opportunity to introduce ourselves and the products we carry to more people,” says Jay Liwanag, BeautyMnl Founder and President. “We’re excited to serve RRHI’s customers by giving them access to our best-selling items and top brands.”
Edamama
A Nurturing Platform for Mothers and Babies
In 2021, we added a new investment in our digital portfolio through Edamama, with a 13.3% equity ownership upon conversation. Edamama is a B2C e-commerce platform for childcare products and services, and we envision potential collaborations with our banners Robinsons Department Store and Toys ‘R’ Us, which also serve the same demographic of mothers and children.
Edamama’s website serves as a platform to help mothers make the best choices for their children by curating high quality products and services across all stages of child development, with options for subscription and a gift registry.
Supporting the adage that it takes a village to raise a child, the site is also an avenue with dedicated content and stories from fellow parents, with informative blog posts on a wide array of topics and tips to make parenthood easier. Through its “Explore” tab, it also offers online classes and educational materials for both children and parents, adding value and a sense of community among its shoppers.
The business was launched in May 2020 with founders Bela Gupta D’Souza and Nishant D’Souza, who raised US$5 million in pre-series A money. In 2021, they ended the year with USD 4.8 mn GMV. According to D’Souza, the aim of the platform is to gain and build the trust of more mothers in the country, which presents a promising online market as the sector registers one of the highest growth rates in Philippine e-commerce.
Launchbox
Building Digital Talent
Launchbox is an accelerator program for the Gokongwei Group that utilizes technology to improve business operations. In collaboration with the JG Summit Digital Transformation Office (DTO), we maximized this program to zoom in on digital fluency and competency in our business units. From here, we offered pathways for business units to recognize how data can drive results through experimentation and pivot towards digital projects and initiatives.
The program is an exploratory avenue for ideas to improve performance in the digital space, offering hands-on training and coaching from DTO’s team of experts, designed with elements of healthy competition, growth-hacking, and a solutions-oriented mindset. It is conducted in the form of three or six-month long seasons that take a close look at the specific business context of the participating banners.
For RRHI, the end goal is to create actionable real-life solutions, which are rolled out in actual day-to-day operations that add value and gain results in key performance areas. Examples of these solutions involve designing e-commerce platforms, digital marketing campaigns, targeted promotions, and having a clear understanding of the target consumer.
Launchbox empowers our employees by equipping them with skills to better navigate the future of omnichannel retail, which is founded on data to support the overall business strategy. From November 2019 to November 2021, we have conducted three Launchbox Seasons, awarding winners from each Season based on the success of each team’s digital projects. Over 60 graduates from Robinsons Retail have since participated in Launchbox, and we are proud to note that our banners Southstar Drug and GoRobinsons won top marks for innovative solutions in their online platforms for the first two seasons, while The Marketplace won in the all-retail Season.
Growsari
Empowering Sari-Sari Store Owners
Growsari is the Philippines’ first tech start-up which provides B2B grocery delivery services to sari-sari store owners through a mobile app, with merchandise sourced from Robinsons Supermarket branches.
In 2021, Growsari principal G2M conducted their Series B fundraising and raised US$30+ million in total funding from global marquee investors like Tencent, Pavilion Capital and IFC among others. In March 2022, Growsari also announced that in its Series C, it also raised US$77.5mn in funding, with KKR leading the round with a US$45mn investment. This brings the company’s total raise to about US$110 million.
RRHI led the online platform’s Series A funding round in 2018, along with JG Digital Equity Ventures, and Wavemaker Partners LLC. We continue to support them by participating in fundraising rounds to maintain our equity in
the business.
Through this joint partnership, Growsari promotes inclusive businesses that put micro and small enterprises at the heart of their business model, with merchandise sourced from Robinsons Supermarket branches.
Growsari’s tech infrastructure is all developed in-house, from call center operations to warehouse management, delivery fleet management, customer relationship management, to data analytics. Users simply need to go online to order the items they need, which will then be delivered to their stores the next day.
BeautyMNL
From Online to Offline
Philippines’ leading beauty e-commerce player BeautyMnl launched its first “Shop-in-Shop” concepts at The Marketplace in Shangri-La Plaza and Robinsons Department Store in Robinsons Place Ermita last May, onboarding a lineup of almost 300 SKUs and over a hundred brands, including COSRX, Milani, Puritan’s Pride, and Cetaphil Baby. BeautyMNL is our first digital investment in e-commerce where we currently have 30% stake.
The launch deepens our strategic partnership with BeautyMnL, which began in 2017. The move towards BeautyMnl’s Shop-in-Shop concepts further bolsters our commitment to omnichannel retailing. The new in-store concept in turn widens BeautyMnl’s market reach and enables our shoppers to stock up on self-care staples while discovering exciting new finds from BeautyMnl.
“RRHI’s large and diverse customer base gives us the perfect opportunity to introduce ourselves and the products we carry to more people,” says Jay Liwanag, BeautyMnl Founder and President. “We’re excited to serve RRHI’s customers by giving them access to our best-selling items and top brands.”
Edamama
A Nurturing Platform for
Mothers and Babies
In 2021, we added a new investment in our digital portfolio through Edamama, with a 13.3% equity ownership upon conversation. Edamama is a B2C e-commerce platform for childcare products and services, and we envision potential collaborations with our banners Robinsons Department Store and Toys ‘R’ Us, which also serve the same demographic of mothers and children.
Edamama’s website serves as a platform to help mothers make the best choices for their children by curating high quality products and services across all stages of child development, with options for subscription and a gift registry. Supporting the adage that it takes a village to raise a child, the site is also an avenue with dedicated content and stories from fellow parents, with informative blog posts on a wide array of topics and tips to make parenthood easier. Through its “Explore” tab, it also offers online classes and educational materials for both children and parents, adding value and a sense of community among its shoppers.
The business was launched in May 2020 with founders Bela Gupta D’Souza and Nishant D’Souza, who raised US$5 million in pre-series A money. In 2021, they ended the year with USD 4.8 mn GMV. According to D’Souza, the aim of the platform is to gain and build the trust of more mothers in the country, which presents a promising online market as the sector registers one of the highest growth rates in Philippine e-commerce.
Launchbox
From Online to Offline
Launchbox is an accelerator program for the Gokongwei Group that utilizes technology to improve business operations. In collaboration with the JG Summit Digital Transformation Office (DTO), we maximized this program to zoom in on digital fluency and competency in our business units. From here, we offered pathways for business units to recognize how data can drive results through experimentation and pivot towards digital projects and initiatives.
The program is an exploratory avenue for ideas to improve performance in the digital space, offering hands-on training and coaching from DTO’s team of experts, designed with elements of healthy competition, growth-hacking, and a solutions-oriented mindset. It is conducted in the form of three or six-month long seasons that take a close look at the specific business context of the participating banners.
For RRHI, the end goal is to create actionable real-life solutions, which are rolled out in actual day-to-day operations that add value and gain results in key performance areas. Examples of these solutions involve designing e-commerce platforms, digital marketing campaigns, targeted promotions, and having a clear understanding of the target consumer.
Launchbox empowers our employees by equipping them with skills to better navigate the future of omnichannel retail, which is founded on data to support the overall business strategy. From November 2019 to November 2021, we have conducted three Launchbox Seasons, awarding winners from each Season based on the success of each team’s digital projects. Over 60 graduates from Robinsons Retail have since participated in Launchbox, and we are proud to note that our banners Southstar Drug and GoRobinsons won top marks for innovative solutions in their online platforms for the first two seasons, while The Marketplace won in the all-retail Season.
