Tycoon Gokongwei gets a taste for e-commerce

JOHN GOKONGWEI oversees an empire spanning airlines, malls and property. Now the billionaire’s family is preparing to drive into online shopping as well.

Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc., one of three giants that dominate retail in the Philippines, has begun moving more of its $2.7-billion empire online. The company plans to triple the number of supermarkets that ship web orders by 2018, said Robina Gokongwei-Pe, the tycoon’s daughter and company president. Other parts of the conglomerate, including department stores, will eventually follow.

Robinsons joins SM Investments Corp. and Ayala Corp. in exploring e- commerce for a country where life revolves around the old- fashioned mall. All three launched online shops or invested in services over the past year, responding to a generation of smartphone- toting consumers exploring alternatives like Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s Lazada. Soul-crushing traffic congestion — rated among the worst in the world — only accelerates that online migration.

The Gokongweis are quickening their efforts as Alibaba and Amazon. com, Inc. prepare to battle it out for Southeast Asia, a region of more than 600 million that’s fast embracing online shopping. The family already has a small stake in Sea Ltd., the Southeast Asian giant preparing a US stock market debut. It’s begun selling appliances and selected fashion online, through partners such as Zalora. But with supermarkets — the primary revenue-driver — Robinsons is making its biggest foray into e-commerce. Online sales through a shopping site launched in May have so far shown promise, Ms. Gokongwei-Pe said.

“We’re seeing exponential growth in online retail,” she said in an interview. “This is the way to go given the horrible traffic in urban areas like Manila and a growing market of millennials.”

Robinsons will continue to build its brick-and-mortar network, particularly in under-penetrated areas. The company has yet to open a store in about 40% of provinces and cities, said Gina Roa-Dipaling, head of corporate planning. It’s adding 140 to 150 stores this year and will probably open another 140 in 2018 to sustain double-digit growth in earnings, Ms. Gokongwei-Pe said. It will also seek supermarkets and drugstores to acquire, she said.