Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc., the retail holding company of the Gokongwei Group, said Wednesday it continues to expand its drugstore business with the recent opening of its 900th outlet.
RRHI said in a disclosure to the stock exchange the new Southstar Drug branch is located in Sta. Cruz, Laguna. It is a part of Southstar Drug’s strategic expansion into less penetrated areas in Luzon.
“With the current climate of rising health concerns among our customers, it is especially important for us now to be able to address their needs for reliable and trusted medicines. We are gaining momentum in growing our geographic footprint in line with this goal with even more store openings lined up for 2022,” said Christine Tueres, group general manager of RRHI’s drugstore segment.
RRHI’s drugstore brands Southstar Drug and Rose Pharmacy have a combined store network of 900 stores in the country.
Rose Pharmacy, which was acquired in October 2020, is the leading player in the Visayas and Mindanao.
RRHI also operates TGP, the country’s largest chain of generic drugstores with more than 2,000 stores nationwide.
Southstar Drug and Rose Pharmacy set up their own e-commerce platform amid the pandemic to offer greater convenience to customers through order and delivery services.
E-commerce sales of drugstore brands accounted for 3.8 percent of total drugstore sales in the first three quarters of 2021.
RRHI is also engaged in five other business segments, including supermarkets, department stores, DIY stores, convenience stores and specialty stores.
Drugstore business is the second biggest revenues contributor for the group, accounting for 18.2 percent of total sales from January to September 2021.
RRHI had 2,179 stores across its business segments with total gross floor area of 1.48 million square meters as of end-September 2021.