Gokongwei to keep Rustan’s name even after Tantoco exit
The Gokongwei family intends to keep the Rustan’s name for the upscale supermarket chain that it has acquired from the Dairy Farm Group even though the founding Tantoco family had already exited the business since last year.
“Rustan’s has such a rich ring to it,” said a Gokongwei family member who asked not to be identified. The source declined to add details of the acquisition pending approval of the P18billion share-swap deal by the Philippine Competition Commission.
From an original 50-50 joint venture in 2012, the Dairy Farm Group completed the acquisition of the Rustan’s/ Shopwise chain in August 2017, with the Tantoco clan deciding instead to focus on their high-end department store/ special retail businesses under the listed SSI Group.
The Rustan’s/Shopwise divestment followed the Tantocos earlier exiting, with their partner Ayala, the FamilyMart convenience store chain in favor of Duterte campaign funder Dennis Uy and Wellworth department store venture, to buyer Metro Retail Stores of the Gaisano family.
In reporting last week’s acquisition, the Gokongwei-owned Entrepreneur web magazine said Rustans Supercenters, the parent company of the Rustan’s/Shopwise supermarket chain, has suffered losses year after year even after the marriage with Dairy Farm in 2012.
In any case, profitability improved for the Philippine subsidiary during the first six months of last year “even though sales were flat following the closure of a large hypermarket,” Dairy Farm said in its first half 2017 report.
Even as it takes a back seat in the Philippine supermarket business, Dairy Farm has sought local regulatory approval to take majority control of Rose Pharmacy, after the London-listed pan-Asian retailer injected at least $8.3 million in new capital since acquiring a minority stake in the Cebu-based drugstore chain in 2014.
Wee wins ‘W’ wrangle
Seaweed products manufacturer Wee Lee Hiong has rolled back an attempt by the US hotel chain Starwood to take down the “W” name and sign from his six office buildings in the Fort.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts had asked the local trademark office to stop Wee from registering the W brand for his “real estate affairs,” with the American hotel empire claiming that it has the global rights to the “W” hotel brand, along with Sheraton, Westin, and St. Regis hotel chains.
But the Intellectual Property Office, in a recent ruling, said there was no evidence to show that the W hotel chain was known locally or even had actually used the brand in the Philippines.
“This office has registered 343 trademarks adopting the letter ‘W’ as a standalone mark or in combination with other word/words or elements under different classes of good,” the IPO said. “The mere presence of the letter ‘W’ (in Wee’s office buildings) is insufficient to establish a finding of confusing similarity between the competing marks to sustain the opposition.”
A graduate of electrical and electronics engineering of Mapua Institute of Technology, Wee is the founder and chairman of the W Group, which, with his six buildings, makes him the fourth biggest office landlord in Bonifacio Global City.
All six buildings have ‘W’ affixed to their respective names, including W Fifth Avenue and W Global Center.
Max’s targets lonely diners
Max’s Restaurant has always focused its marketing on family and group diners since its founding after the war.
Now, the house made famous by fried chicken thinks there is bread-and-butter to be made on lone diners as well.
Max’s Restaurant has piloted a new concept store at the Shell Mexico branch along the North Luzon Expressway which features intimate pockets and booth seating for solo diners, natural plant walls and wooden materials, murals inspired by Philippine art and architecture, and a bright signage setup, Max’s Group president and chief executive Robert Ramon Trota said in a report to shareholders ahead of the annual meeting in May.
If such a seating proves to be a hit, expect the listed casual dining chain to roll it out in its Metro Manila stores.
In addition to targeting single diners, “the company will be shifting towards a franchising-led approach to anchor its expansion,” Trota said. “With a planned rollout of 80-90 stores (for 2018), this ensures the company active in key geographies and, at the same time, generate higher fee-based recurring income.”
Meanwhile, its Teriyaki Boy chain had been shrunk from 25 stores in 2015 down to 13 last year, along with modernizing the store architecture, streamlining the menu, and upgrading the service platform, all in an effort to “invigorate” the brand.
A combination store format, with Sizzlin’ Steak and Teriyaki Boy located next to each other and sharing common dining and kitchen areas, is now the preferred model for future expansion, Trota said.
Sizzling Steak closed six stores last year, with four out of the remaining 12 branches now sharing real estate space with Teriyaki Boy.
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