Supermarkets in the Philippines

PROSPECTS

Steady growth driven by expansion beyond Metro Manila

Supermarkets saw steady growth throughout the review period. While it has faced intensifying competition from other retail formats, the supermarkets channel has benefited from rising purchasing power amongst Filipino consumers.

More transactions and larger basket sizes

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority's annual household consumption expenditure report, total household expenditure grew in 2018 despite a climbing inflation rate. Moreover, grocery staples featured amongst the fastest growing areas of expenditure by Filipinos towards the end of the review period.

Rival formats pose threat in urban areas

Other grocery formats are expanding at a faster rate than supermarkets, especially convenience stores. Larger convenience stores/minimarts represent a particularly notable threat to supermarkets.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

SM Retail maintains lead as it expands in rural areas

The leading operator in supermarkets, SM Retail Inc, collectively names its supermarket/hypermarket formats the SM Markets. These include SM Supermarket, Save More Supermarket and SM Hypermarket.

Robinsons working to rationalise and reorganise following acquisition

Prior to the acquisition of Rustan’s Supercenters Inc, Robinsons Retail Holdings supermarket brands included Robinsons Supermarket, Robinsons Selection and Robinsons Easymart. The acquisition brought Rustan’s Supermarket, The Marketplace, Wellcome and Shopwise Express into Robinsons’ portfolio.

Newcomer targets significant expansion

DoubleDragon Properties Corp has successfully grown its shopping centre brand, CityMall, during the past few years and, in 2019, it officially entered the modern grocery retailing segment with the launch of a new supermarket brand, MerryMart Grocery Center. The company plans to roll out a total of 1,200 outlets nationwide by 2030, while also aiming to reach PHP120 billion in systemwide sales within 12 years.

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