Robinsons Retail goes into online grocery delivery

MANILA, Philippines - Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. is venturing into online grocery delivery service through a partnership with HappyFresh Philippines.

With the partnership launched last Sunday, Robinsons Retail said customers can now make an order from within a five-kilometer radius of 20 selected Robinsons Supermarket branches in Metro Manila.

The listed retailer of the Gokongwei family said the services would initially be offered to residents of Metro Manila, and then eventually to other urban centers in the country.

The grocery products will be delivered within a specified time right at the doorstep of the customers, Robinsons Retail added.

“We are excited to partner with HappyFresh as its first online grocery delivery service partner in the Philippines. The online grocery delivery business will complement with our offline business. We look forward to offering this new shopping experience to our consumers,” Robinsons Retail president and COO Robina Gokongwei-Pe said.

Robinsons Supermarket is the very first launch partner of HappyFresh in the supermarket category.

HappyFresh will initially offer around 4,000 stock keeping units (SKUs) in its online grocery platform but is seen expanding to include the entire in-store product assortment of Robinsons Supermarket which number around 15,000 to 20,000 SKUs for the customers to select and buy.

As a value-added to the partnership, HappyFresh will also provide Robinsons Supermarket with analytics to enable the retailer to create  assortment, pricing, promotions, and other strategies to tailor its product offerings and services based on what the customer wants and needs.

“As one of the most populous and well-connected countries in Southeast Asia, the Philippines is an important country for HappyFresh in terms of market potential. Local customers recognize the convenience of on-demand and scheduled grocery delivery services and we are excited to be partnering with one of the largest supermarket chains in the country to bring quality service at a wide range of price points to our customers,” HappyFresh Philippines managing director Isabel Barrientos said.

“At HappyFresh, we are committed to assisting our partners such as Robinsons Supermarket with its transformation journey by enabling it with the ability to digitalise their businesses and reach out to more customers who are increasingly using digital platforms to purchase necessities at their convenience,” added Markus Bihler, HappyFresh CEO and co-founder.