Cover Story
PHILIPPINE RETAILING
FATHER OF PHILIPPINE
RETAILING HENRY SY
SR. PASSES ON AT 94 Sy is Honorary Chairman of the Philippine
Retailers Association. In 2005 he was recognized
by the association as the Father of Philippine
Retailing for his immense contributions to
the retail industry and the country’s economic
development.
Henry Sy Sr.—the country’s richest man
and founder and owner of the biggest
mall chain in the country, has passed
away last January 19. He was 94. A self-made man, Sy started out by opening a
small shoe store in Manila in 1946 right after
the World War II. He named his flagship store
Shoemart, and as he expanded his product
offering, he later named it SM Department Store.
1ST QUARTER 2019
In 1985, he made history by opening his first
Supermall SM North EDSA at the time when the
country was facing a political turmoil.
Currently, SM has 78 shopping malls around the
country. He was a visionary who is humble and
hardworking.
The PRA Board of Directors and Secretariat
extend their condolence to the Sy famiy. He
may not be physically present anymore, but his
legacy lives on.
FROM PAGE 1... PRA relaunches OFRSCY...
Now on its 21st year, the OFRSCY Awards seek to recognize Filipino retailers who have
epitomized the model of a successful retailer in terms of growth, creativity, and best
business practices.
The awards also distinguish exceptional local retailers who exemplify ingenuity that
makes their business stand out in the ever-dynamic retail industry.
first phase of the redevelopment to be fully
operational by mid this year as we continue to
build a much better and more vibrant store for
our patrons,” MRSGI Chairman and CEO Frank S.
Gaisano said in a statement.
“We are well on our way to restoring the Metro
Supermarket and Metro Department store
in Ayala Center Cebu…We expect that the Three months after the incident, the MRSGI
opened a temporary supermarket covering 900
square meters in Ayala Center Cebu.
The Philippines continues to be the
choice of foreign brands to invest and
expand their operations in, which may
be a signal of sustained buying power
of the Filipino consumer and their
preference for global brands.
Submission of entries will be accepted by the PRA until April 30, 2019 and winners will be
officially announced and recognized during the awards night on June 20, 2019.
OFRSCY is presented in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry.
In October last year, Uniqlo opened its biggest
Southeast Asia flagship store in Makati. The
Japanese fashion apparel is also one of the biggest
For inquiries, you may contact the PRA Secretariat at 687-4181/83 or email adcomm@
philretailers.com and look for Ms. Mayan Sangil.
As the PRA continues to expand
and strengthen networks in the
international arena, its representatives from the Board of
Directors, composed of President Rosemarie B. Ong and Vice
Chairman Roberto Claudio, with Secretary General Evelyn
Balmeo-Salire attended the first Federation of International
Retail Associations (FIRA) meeting of the year.
During the meeting, PRA reported on the top three issues in the Philippines in
regards to retail which are: Further Liberalization Retail Trade in the country,
e-commerce, and data privacy act.
FIRA promotes networking, collaboration, and information exchange among
retail trade associations around the world.
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PRA President Rosemarie B. Ong
and Chairman Atty. Paul A. Santos
recently attended the hearing
on the proposed bill on the
Institutionalization of Corporate
Social Responsibility (HB00698).
Under the proposed bill, all business
organizations are mandated to take
into consideration the interest of
society by taking responsibility for the
impact of their activities on customers,
employees, shareholders, communities,
and environment. In return, businesses
that will comply will be entitled to full
deductions of the expenses incurred in
undertaking CSR activities.
The Arco de Emperador—built at the center
of Arcovia City, Megaworld’s latest township
development in Pasig—is not like other arches
in Europe, said Spanish sculptor Gines Serran
Pagan, who designed and built the monument.
Instead of commemorating a particular hero, or
emperor in the case of ancient Roman arches,
the Arco de Emperador is a testament to how
anyone, with enough passion, hard work, and
perseverance can be an “emperor.”
The company currently operates 53 stores
across Central, Western, and Eastern Visayas.
It also has a presence in Central Luzon, Metro
Manila, and South Luzon through three formats,
namely department store, supermarket, and
hypermarket.
in the world. In January this year, London footwear
brand Fitflop also opened a flagship store in SM
Mall of Asia, the biggest in the world, to date.
The new FitFlop Galleon store is operated by The
Primer Group of Companies, the brand’s exclusive
distributor in the Philippines.
Late last year, Ikea also announced it is opening
the biggest Ikea store in the world in SM MoA by
2020. The giant store will occupy a massive space
of 65,000 sqm, roughly as huge as 150 basketball
courts. It will feature 9,000 well-designed and
functional home products, many of which have
already cult following in the country.
In terms of options of buying foreign or local
brands, Filipinos prefer to buy apparel, shoes, and
sporting goods from foreign brands, according to
Colliers International.
Inside Retail Asia, 01/07/2019 | Philippine Primer 11/21/2018
the sculptor patterned after famous local heroes
– including Jose Rizal and Martin Delgado.
MEGAWORLD
UNVEILS ARCO DE
EMPERADOR
Megaworld unveiled a new city
landmark last February—called the
Arco de Emperador, now considered
the tallest monument in the country
which is dedicated to the self-made
man.
MRSGI earlier said it looks to double its 2015
gross floor area to 800,000 square meters, with
an investment of P10 billion over the five-year
period through 2020.
Business World, 01/10/2019
PH CONTINUES
TO BE CHOICE FOR
INVESTMENTS OF
FOREIGN BRANDS
“The OFRSCY revamp aims to give the awards a fresh look and take so that it can keep up
with the current time and to engage more retailers to join the search—that’s why there’s a
new category for e-commerce as well,” President Ong added.
BILL ON INSTITUTIONALIZATION
OF CSR
Aside from rebuilding its Metro Ayala Cebu
store, MRSGI is also pushing through with
its expansion in Visayas and Luzon. The
company opened Metro Department Stores and
Supermarket at Ayala Malls Feliz in Pasig City
and Bacolod last year. It also broke ground for
Super Metro Hypermarket Baybay in Leyte.
A year after the Metro Ayala Cebu
was razed by a fire, the Metro
Retail Stores Group, Inc. (MRSGI)
has announced that it targets to
complete the first phase of the
rebuilding and recovery program of
the mall by mid-2019.
Eight categories were opened for the 21st OFRSCY Awards, namely: Retailer of the Year,
Shopping Center of the Year (Small, Medium, Large), Supermarket of the Year, Regional
Retailer of the Year (North Luzon, South Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao), Most Promising Retailer
of the Year, E-Commerce Excellence, Outstanding Visual Merchandising Campaign (Retail
Store, Department Store), and Outstanding Marketing Campaign.
PRA ATTENDS FIRA
MEETING, NRF BIG
SHOW IN NY
PHILIPPINE RETAILING
METRO AYALA CEBU
TO REOPEN BY MID-
2019
“Through the OFRSCY, we aim to encourage Filipino retailers to adopt world class standards
and practices to become globally-competitive,” PRA President Rosemarie B. Ong said.
PRA NEWS AND UPDATES
Local News
1ST QUARTER 2019
Measuring 23 meters tall, the Arco de Emperador
is now the tallest monument in the country.
Manila Bulletin, 02/14/2019
Gines added that the Arco is the only arch in the
world that has a quadriga with only three horses.
The quadriga, Latin for a four-horse chariot,
usually adorns the top of triumphal arches built
to honor a victorious Roman emperor. Instead of
putting four horses, Gines had to do with three
since he was told by Dr. Andrew Tan that four
is an inauspicious number in Chinese feng shui.
To balance the sculpture, Gines added two lions
and two angels on both sides of the quadriga.
The angels, he explains, are plated with two
layers of 24 karat gold. Gines modeled the
central figure of the quadriga after the Roman
emperor Trajan, dressed in Roman military garb
but adorned with a face that’s very Filipino, which
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