BIZ BUZZ: Shoptalk

There is buzz on the street about a big local business group with multinational operations that wants to acquire the 456-store convenience store chain Ministop Philippines.

Following the exit of Ministop Japan, the local convenience store chain is now fully controlled by the Gokongwei Group.

Asked about this, Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. (RRHI) president Robina Gokongwei-Pe said she had also heard of such rumors, but noted she had not received any proposal.

“We are going to run it ourselves,” Gokongwei-Pe told Biz Buzz on the sidelines of the launch of “Gokongwei Group” as the master brand of all companies controlled by the group.

RRHI will soon have to come up with a new brand name for the convenience store chain, as it could no longer use “Ministop” beyond 2022.

The group is no stranger to multiformat retailing, so it has all the resources and expertise to grow the chain on its own. In recent years, RRHI has been the one acquiring other players, such as the premium supermarket chain ran by Rustan’s or a string of drug stores with footprint outside Metro Manila.

Based on RRHI’s 2021 annual report, Ministop accounted for 3.2 percent of groupwide revenues. The chain delivered systemwide sales of P6.4 billion and merchant sales of P4.8 billion. E-commerce sales are rising with increased traction from delivery tie-ups with Grabfood and Grabmart.

If and when a buyout or buy-in proposal comes in, maybe that’s the time that the group will evaluate whether to stay, exit or take in a new joint venture partner in the convenience store space.

—Doris Dumlao-Abadilla

Land grabbing foiled

Early this year, Biz Buzz published “Land grabbing, New Manila style,” which narrated how an idle property owned by Titan Dragon Properties was seized by wily and well-connected individuals who managed to transfer the title in their name using a fake deed of sale. The deed states that the 7-hectare property was sold for a measly P60 million or P860 per square meter, a ridiculously and absurdly low amount, considering the size and location in New Manila where the zonal value is pegged at P12,000 to P20,000 a square meter.

Fortunately, the Supreme Court under the leadership of Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo put a stop to it in a 2021 decision.

However, it turns out the saga continues. The buzz is that the syndicate has been busy trying to have the decision set aside through a motion for reconsideration. But the Supreme Court was not having it.

In a Feb. 15, 2022 decision received by the parties on July 18, the high court denied with finality the motion for reconsideration, which means that Titan has secured some form of justice thanks to Gesmundo and Associate Justices Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa, Samuel Gaerlan, Japar Dimaampao and Henri Jean Paul Inting of the high court’s first division.

Titan was backed by the Land Registration Authority (LRA), which characterized the title said to be in the possession of the syndicate as dubious. This was validated by LRA’s Task Force Titulong Malinis Report No. 15-009.

Titan still has some ways to go, however, as the LRA said further legal actions were required to actually cancel the “fake” title.

And so the fight continues. But this time with a glimmer of hope appearing at the end of the tunnel for Titan Dragon.

—Tina Arceo-Dumlao

Tys bring Japan to PH

Big real estate groups have been going to town with their township projects.

More builders have announced plans to enter the space, which loosely refers to a mixed-use residential, work and commercial community located within or outside an urban area.

With new players coming onboard, it’s natural the Ty family’s Federal Land Inc. wants to stand out.

It partnered with top Japanese developer Nomura Real Estate Development Co. (NRE) to roll out a long-term venture called Federal Land NRE Global Inc.

The companies will build Japanese-inspired smart cities and townships in the coming years.

In fact, Federal Land chair Alfred Ty said they had drawn up a multi-decade plan for about 250 hectares of land that was earlier committed.

These projects would rise along Manila Bay, Cebu and Cavite.

Nomura also brings expertise and technology such as damper systems that make buildings more resistant to earthquakes as well as other water-and energy-efficient features.

The parties have likened the partnership to a marriage. This follows the successful courtship that led to The Seasons Residences in Bonifacio Global City.

Federal Land president Thomas Mirasol, who was once the top executive at Ayala Land’s upscale “premier” brand, is now taking the lead in the developer’s latest pivot.

While keeping most details close to his chest, Mirasol shared they were planning to bring Tokyo’s Omotesandō shopping experience to Manila Bay.

For now, all he would say was they wanted to bring a well-curated Japanese experience that was authentic but not “Disneyland-like.”

That means good execution without being “gimmicky.” Let us see.

—Miguel R. Camus INQ

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