Robina Gokongwei-Pe is the President and COO of listed Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc., the second biggest multi-format retail group in the Philippines with revenue expected to be over P100-billion in 2016 from approximately 1,500 stores, complemented by the 1,900 store network of the recently-acquired chain TGP (The Generics Pharmacy). She has recently been identified by Forbes Asia as one of […]
Business Strategy
Q1: National Bookstore is expanding its branch network from close to 200 to over 500 by 2020. Why the aggressive availability goal? A: We want to make our stores more accessible and convenient for our customers. We want to give them the convenience to be able to shop in a mall nearer to them. We are also entering secondary and […]
Poor farm-to-market infrastructure, higher cost of feed products versus neighboring countries, import liberalization, smaller margins, rising operating costs, high bargaining power of major fast food chains and supermarket groups, commoditization – these were major problems that Bounty Agro had to contend with simultaneously a decade ago. External forces were enough to stop any additional investment and perhaps, even divest in […]
Q1: Your had a ‘trinity’ policy of ‘no smoking, no drinking and a compulsory Bible study’ in your Laguna resort. What was the insight behind this unique policy? What made you soften on this policy? A: The “trinity policy” of no smoking, no drinking and a compulsory Bible study was made at the onset when Caliraya Resort Club was established. […]
Q1: How has the role of the CFO changed in the last few decades and how has it influenced and shaped corporate and business strategy? A: The traditional role of the CFO has been to keep track of a company’s performance and numbers and to report on the financial performance of the business. The CFO was often described as the “bookkeeper/ […]
Q1: There are so many banks in the Philippines, yet, since 2012, East West Bank has opened around 300 additional branches in 3 years, what is your vision for East West Bank? A. Our expansion was a necessary competitive response. We needed to expand quite massively because our competitors have much more branches. Otherwise, we will get clobbered. This is […]
Q1: Your notebooks are doing well despite being priced premium. What made you decide to focus on the upscale market with various brands? A: Consumers today are more mature and buy intelligently. They do not just buy a product due to being the lowest price. They look for value and differentiation. Each Sterling notebook is value for money due to […]
Q1: I have known you since 1982, and you have always been entrepreneurial, please update us about your other entrepreneurial ventures outside of RFM (Joey’s Pepperoni, etc.) On my popcorn and cotton candy business, it is a business I started with my wife Marissa, when we were still single, over 30 years ago. It used to be called Joey’s popcorn […]