MANILA, AUGUST 12, 2013 – Brand consultancy firm Interbrand reports that SM Retail ranked top three out of five among Southeast Asia brands this year.
In the recent 22nd National Retail Conference, Interbrand brand strategy director Jonathan Bernstein justified the findings, saying that SM stayed “true to its core proposition of accessibility and convenience and innovating to appeal to a changing and expanding consumer base”. He referred to SM’s Save More supermarket brand, SM Department Stores and Hypermarkets, and the SM Investment Corporation. The retailer has 46 department stores and 140 grocery outlets across Metro Manila and various provinces around the country. SM was the only retail brand from the Philippines that made it to the list of best retail brands in the Southeast Asian region. Interbrand added that Henry Sy-owned division was valued at $934 million (approximately P39 billion). Bernstein added: “Influencing consumers with the brand is what measures the brand strength.”
“You know that business may be good but can be better. Last year was a good year because Philippines grew by 6%. We are the second best performance in Asia. We are applauded by the highest growth rates in Asia. All this indicates that we are going to see a further offspring in the country,” added Frederick Go, chairman of the Philippine Retailers Association and president of Robinsons Recreation Corp.
Singapore’s homegrown retailer FairPrice ranked first in the report, Best Retail Brands in SEA. FairPrice increased to 131 stores across the island nation. Ranked second was Parkson, the Malaysian retailer that operates 108 stores in Malaysia, Indonesia, China and Vietnam. Matahari was ranked fourth which retails fashionable brands that operate 116 stores in Indonesia. Lastly, Thailand’s second largest hypermarket brand Big C placed the fifth.
