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Tag: ayala group

  • Zalora Indonesia future under a cloud

    Zalora Indonesia future under a cloud

    Is Zalora Indonesia for sale? Fresh after selling off a chunk of the Philippines business, Rocket denies further Asian withdrawal.

    Last week, Ayala announced it will buy 43.3 per cent ownership in Zalora manager BF Jade E-Service Philippines for an undisclosed amount, taking its ownership to 49 per cent. The investment marks Ayala’s first foray in eCommerce.

    But what of Zalora Indonesia? Parent, German eCommerce investor Rocket Internet, is also said to be in negotiations with Indonesian retail conglomerate Map Group, according to a report by TechCrunch. Other reports say it is withdrawing entirely from Indonesia. But Zalora PR director Christopher Daguimol denies a retreat from Indonesia.

    “Southeast Asia is a diverse region, and we will always look at adapting our strategy to local country dynamics and opportunities. Our objective is to build the online fashion leader in each of our Southeast Asia markets,” Zalora said at the time it announced its Philippines divestment.

    Zalora sold off its businesses in Thailand and Vietnam last year.

    Map runs nearly 2000 retail outlets in Indonesia, including fashion outlets, and more in partnership with global firms like Marks and Spencer, and Zara. The publicly listed company has more than 22,000 employees.

    Fierce competition has started escalating in Indonesia, marked by layoffs by Berrybenka and SaleStock a few months ago, says Deal Street Asia. Giants like Lazada and MatahariMall.com are meanwhile steadily marching forward with both companies received major funding from global investors last year.

  • Generika Drugstore eyes aggressive local, overseas expansion

    Generika Drugstore eyes aggressive local, overseas expansion

    Generika Drugstore is eying aggressive expansion in the country’s far-flung areas – and possibly abroad into Southeast Asia.

    Generika is country’s third-largest player, half-owned by retail giant Ayala. In 2015 the Ayala group, through its Ayala Healthcare Holdings Inc., acquired 50 per cent of the pharmacy business from cofounder, Frenchman Julien Bello.

    Teodoro Ferrer, president of Generika, said the company plans to boost its 600 stores with 152 more in 2016, and an average of 100 stores annually over the next few years.

    “We need to grow further to more than 1000 stores in less than five years. We also need to focus the product line to include food supplements and also focus on healthcare and wellness, and not just on medicines,” Ferrer said.

    He said the aggressive strategy for a company the size of Generika, founded 12 years ago, could not be compared with opening a branch of a convenience store that sold mostly food and grocery items.

    “You need to have approvals from the local government, from the FDA [Food and Drug Administration]; hire a licensed pharmacist; and then look for the right franchise owner that will take care of your store.”

    Ferrer said the company will put branches in far-flung areas of the country where he believes its services are needed.

    Generika now owns about 42 per cent of its network, since previously it didn’t have the capital to own stores, which cost about P1.2 million to P1.5 million to build. The rest of the stores are operated as franchises.

    “Now that our profit is increasing and Ayala group has come in, we can now expand company-owned stores.”

  • Ayala snaps up drug store stake

    Ayala snaps up drug store stake

    The Philippines retail and property conglomerate Ayala Group has bought a 50 per cent interest in local franchised healthcare chain Generika Drugstore.

    Ayala’s subsidiary Ayala Healthcare Holdings completed the deal, acquiring the stake from the family of Julien Bello.

    The chain has more than 500 stores across the Philippines. Co-founder Teodoro Ferrer, and the Bello family, will retain the other 50 per cent and Ferrer retains his role as president and CEO.

    Ferrer left Ayala’s employ in 2003 after more than 30 years for create Generika, which specialises in generic medicines for Filipinos unable to afford branded drugs.

    In a statement, Ayala president and COO Fernando Zobel de Ayala said the company was looking forward to furthering Generika’s goal of closing the gaps in affordable retail healthcare in the Philippines.

    “We believe this is an excellent platform for Ayala to reinvent the space and it will serve as foundation for our emerging healthcare portfolio,” he said. “

    With the combined strengths and management capabilities of Ayala and Generika, we believe we can raise the level of efficiency and accessibility of this platform to better serve Filipino families by providing a wide range of quality medicines at affordable prices.”

    Ayala will add the new business venture to a growing portfolio of companies in the healthcare arena. Last year it bought QualiMed, the Ayala Land subsidiary’s chain of hospitals and medical clinics, in partnership with the Mercado medical group.

  • SM in bid for Cherry Foodarama

    SM in bid for Cherry Foodarama

    Philippines retail conglomerate SM says it’s in talks to purchase grocery retailer Cherry Foodarama.

    In a disclosure to the inventory trade, SM Investments stated the 2 corporations are planning to enter right into a three way partnership, topic to agreeing on phrases.

    SM additionally operates in a JV association with Waltermart and rival retail big Ayala Group has a partnership with Puregold.

    Cherry Foodarama was based within the 1950s and is seen as one thing of a pioneer within the Philippines grocery enterprise. It has three shops in metro Manila – at Quezon Metropolis, Antipolo Metropolis and Mandaluyong.

    If the deal is sealed, it might take SM’s grocery retailer community to 232, the prevailing shops working underneath the SM Grocery store, Hypermarket, Savemore and Waltermart manufacturers.

    Puregold Worth Membership has 254 shops nationwide.

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