There’s an interesting theory called Nominative Determinism which suggests that people gravitate toward professions or interests that are connected in some way to their names.
For a great chunk of his career, Stanley “Stan” Co, the managing director of Robinsons Retail Holdings’ Supermarket Segment, appeared to be the perfect example of this hypothesis.
“My Dad got my name from the famous American tool brand,” offers Stan a few minutes into our interview. Sensing our initial skepticism, he quickly adds with a big smile, “It’s a true story! So, when I moved to Robinsons Retail to join Handyman [in 2003], everybody said, ‘Oh, you’re really meant to be in hardware.’”
And that he certainly was. For the next 18 years at Robinsons Retail – one of the largest multi-format retailers in the country today – Stan was involved with tools and hardware in one way or another.
Breaking out of the nominative determinism mold, he earned the chance to prove himself in a retail category unrelated to his name when he transferred to Robinsons Retail's Supermarket Segment in March 2021. Stan has gone from strength to strength ever since, pursuing aggressive yet disciplined expansion and exploring new frontiers of growth for the group’s supermarket business.
On the Job Training
Like many young Filipino-Chinese children, Stan joined his family’s business shortly after graduating from the University of Santo Tomas in 1998; this, however, wasn’t part of the plan. Being an Economics graduate, he intended to pursue a career in research but later scrapped the idea. How would his life have turned out if he pursued his original goal? “That's something that I’ve never really thought of, the ‘What could have been?’” says Stan. “I live life with no regrets.”
With some work experience under his belt, Stan decided to pursue a master’s degree in business administration at De La Salle University. Interestingly enough, Stan shares that while studying in Manila, he began frequenting the Handyman branch in nearby Ermita because of his fascination for hardware, DIY gear, and car accessories. Little did he know how connected he would be to this brand in the years to come.
Naturally, after earning his MBA in March 2003, an online ad for a job opening in Handyman immediately caught his eye. A couple of months later, Stan came on board in June 2003 as a Division Merchandise Manager with plumbing and electrical products under his supervisory portfolio. “I knew nothing about those products!” shares Stan candidly. But being naturally curious and competitive, he quickly learned on the job. “What I did was I took out all the catalogs, brought them home, and went over them to study. I also spent a lot of time in the stores, talking to people, merchandisers in particular, because they know their products very well. If you really want to know and understand the business, you have to talk to all of those people. That's how I got to know the business.”
Due credit was also given to the mentors who generously shared their knowledge and expertise over the years, including Robinsons Retail veterans Jody Gadia and Johnson Go, DIY joint venture partners Willy Co and Lynne Co, and of course the company president and CEO, Robina Gokongwei-Pe. “They were all my bosses,” says Stan proudly. “They taught me to be very thorough, methodical, and process-oriented.”
Taking their advice to heart, Stan steadily progressed in the organization. By 2018, he had become the Group General Manager of the DIY, Pets and Mass Merchandise Segment, taking charge of the brands Handyman, True Value, Pet Lovers Centre, Robinsons Builders, Daiso, and Super 50.
Though the scope of work sounds daunting, Stan coolly states that it really “wasn’t that hard.” He explains, “I assumed responsibility of the different banners gradually – from Handyman to Daiso – so it wasn’t that difficult.”
If he was yearning for a bigger challenge, it would come soon enough.
Trading Tools for Supermarket Carts
In March 2021, Stan was appointed Deputy Managing Director of the Supermarket Segment. Composed of the banners Robinsons Supermarket, The Marketplace, Robinsons Easymart, Shopwise, and No Brand, the Supermarket Segment is the biggest group in Robinsons Retail. Following the retirement of one of his mentors, Jody Gadia, who now serves in an advisory capacity, Stan took on the Managing Director role in September 2021.
When asked to compare handling the DIY and Supermarket segments, Stan immediately answers that the latter is more difficult “because of the enormity of tasks.” Faced with being directly responsible for more than 300 stores, “I knew I had to familiarize myself with many things immediately, create some thinking space, and then, of course, execute my plans.”
In his own words, the role of managing director encompasses pretty much everything. “As the MD, I have 32 direct reports, but with our reorganization, I’m cutting it down little by little. That’s composed of segments from operations, merchandising, supply chain, and others. My role is like putting all the puzzle pieces together.”
Turning to another popular pastime to define the nuances of his job, Stan says that part of it is like a game of chess. With each of the different supermarket banners having specialized roles, very much like the pieces on a chessboard, “You play to each one’s strengths and translate that into winning moves,” explains Stan.
Similar to his approach when he started in the DIY segment, learning about the Supermarket business involved talking to the staff who dealt directly with customers on the shopping floor. “When I moved to the supermarket, again, I had to spend time in the stores, understanding the products, understanding processes. I had to keep on talking to people here because I think that it is reciprocal – you learn from them and they learn from you. There are things that you won't learn just by reading.”
Going back to the differences between the DIY and Supermarket businesses, Stan shares that it’s a case of the “same fundamentals with different dynamics.” He explains, “In DIY, for example, we care about the safety of electrical products. In Robinsons Supermarket, it is all about food safety. It’s more challenging in the sense that we deal with expirations, and we, of course, want to lower our food waste.”
People Management
Stan’s typical day begins at 5 in the morning and he’s usually at the office by 7, coming early on purpose so he can have some quiet time at work. “People will start to come in at 8, 9, 10 o'clock, depending on their shifts. Anything below this, it’s still very quiet. I can do my own things, reply to emails, and finish all the approvals. By the time that people are here, they'll come to see me one by one, of course.”
On average, he’ll meet with 15 to 20 people every day. With all these meetings, he usually skips lunch. “Na sanay na (I’ve become used to it),” says Stan with a casual shrug. “I don't take lunch anymore; I just have a big flask of coffee. That will keep me going the whole day.”
Asked about the culture of the organization, Stan answers that like the rest of the Gokongwei Group affiliates, Robinsons Retail lives by the core values of the conglomerate, which are the Entrepreneurial Mindset, Stewardship, and Integrity.
Robinsons Retail was established in 1980 by the late John Gokongwei Jr., who spearheaded the transition of a small department store in Malate into a trusted, multi-format retailing behemoth.
Over its four-decade-long existence, Robinsons Retail has steadfastly cultivated a customer-centered culture, which is reflected in the company vision: “Our passion for growth is rooted in our dedication to service. We picture ourselves bringing joy to every Filipino with trusted products and solutions.”
In sharing the Gokongwei Group’s Purpose – an unrelenting commitment to provide our customers with better choices, creating shared success with our stakeholders – Robinsons Retail seeks to foster meaningful relationships with its people, customers, and partners.
Contemplating the company’s values and what they mean to him, Stan shares, “What truly resonates with me is stewardship because I have a strong desire to create a great company for people. I do this by continuously improving myself and others. I own up to my mistakes, and I also turn the missteps of others into learning opportunities. I encourage others to share great and fresh ideas, and most importantly, show utmost care for the well-being of our employees.”
With that being said, we become curious about what he looks for when hiring people to join Robinsons Retail. If, for example, all candidates have the same qualifications on paper, Stan says it boils down to a person’s approach to the job. “That’s it, really. It’s all about attitude. Skills, you can learn that. Knowledge, you can easily acquire it. But if you don't have the right attitude, then it becomes very difficult. It's difficult to change a person’s attitude.”
United We Stand
At Robinsons Supermarket’s Harry Potter-themed Trade Partners event held in early March, Stan gave a short speech that touched on the importance of having distinct supermarket banners. The rationale behind them is that they offer the potential to “unlock more growth opportunities and deliver the best strategies custom-fit for the brand and its customers. It's no longer one-size fits all.” He added, “There may be differences with the banners, but we must always aim to win together.”
During our conversation, Stan expounded on the unique positioning and market of each of these banners. “Robinsons Easymart is our community store. Robinsons Supermarket is our mainstream brand. International shopping falls under Shopwise, while The Marketplace is our premium segment. No Brand is our Korean grocery format. They are all very different. By operating them independently from each other, we can further develop our expertise. We can be very specialized and more focused.”
In addition, he stressed the need to appreciate the nuances of each market, dictated by factors such as demographics and geography. “Our buyers [the supermarket purchasing team] must know the profile of our stores and formats. Whenever a supplier pitches a new product, our buyers should already know what will sell, what will do well in certain segments, things like that.
“There are certain products that are more sellable in Visayas and Mindanao, which might not necessarily work in Manila. For example, you know those liquid dishwashing gels? Those are bestsellers in Manila. But in Mindanao, what is popular there is dishwashing paste. Our buyers have to learn things like that. And how do you learn those nuances? By talking to people and, of course, by churning the supermarket’s data.”
With all the different segments and market considerations, can he pin down what makes a good supermarket? Without missing a beat, Stan answers, “Consumers now value convenience, community, inspiration, and sustainability. What separates a great supermarket from a good supermarket is its ability to anticipate and deliver customers’ needs and wants at the right time and place. It is able to transform customers to become advocates of the brand due to its consistent quality service and its ability to add value in the community where it serves.”
300 Supermarket Stores and Counting
Amazingly, on the day of our interview, three supermarkets had their grand openings. This is partly due, says Stan, to the Supermarket Segment being in a “catch-up” phase, as many stores delayed their openings because of the pandemic. “Last year, we opened 45 stores. That’s just in one year. In the past [pre-pandemic] the average number would be around 12 to 15. In 2021, we began accelerating it. By aggressively expanding Robinsons Easymart, our community store format, we feel that we’ll be able to open between 25 to 30 stores every year for the next five years.”
Unlike the mainstream banner Robinsons Supermarket, which aims to serve consumers within a 10-kilometer radius, each Robinsons Easymart store targets a much smaller community. This, coupled with the store’s relatively small footprint, makes it a format brimming with expansion opportunities.
According to Stan, a good percentage of new developments (across all supermarket banners) will be in NCR, but the group is carefully studying expansion in Visayas and Mindanao. “We feel there are still a lot of underserved areas in Vis-Min,” he says. “We're looking at Siargao, we’re looking at Bohol. We're looking at so many places. Bohol is such a big place, but we don't have supermarkets there. Virac, Catanduanes, is another large market where we’re not yet present. Madaming wala pa. So, there are still a lot of opportunities to expand.”
Keeping up with the physical store expansion is the growth on the digital front. “In that aspect, I think we have a very strong foothold in the e-commerce space. Ms. Robina made sure to immediately launch the GoCart app during the height of the lockdown in 2020, in response to the growing demand for online shopping. We also have a healthy presence in third-party online platforms. For the Supermarket Segment, we are present in MetroMart, GrabMart, Pickaroo, FoodPanda, and others.” He adds, “If you want to be a strong omnichannel player in the supermarket business, you have to be present in digital.”
Mr. Brightside
Earlier in the interview, Stan mentioned the value of having the right attitude, and in this aspect, he makes sure to lead by example.
To develop the customer-first attitude sincerely exhibited by store employees, Stan says, “Our frontliners will copy what they see from us. It's all about setting that right mindset. If you want to serve your customers really well, then the effort has to start from all of us in management.”
As part of his role in fulfilling Robinsons Retail’s corporate Mission, which is “to be the Filipinos’ innovative lifestyle partner and customer-first retailer of choice,” Stan tries to visit as many stores as he possibly can to speak to staff and store officers and interact with customers.
With more than 300 stores, it’s quite a task, but he does his best. “We have to make the effort. So, if I need to visit Dumaguete or Bacolod, for example, the store visits have to be planned properly. We take a big swipe of all the stores in an area. In Iloilo, we visited eight stores in one day. We start very early, and then we’ll finish very late. The way I look at it is, since we’re already there, we might as well go all out.”
With 20 years clocked in at Robinsons Retail and, from the looks of it, plenty more to come, what keeps him going and giving 100% every single day? The answer comes easy: “I wake up every day excited at the prospect of a new day, the people that I will meet and interact with, and how I can create a positive impact on something or someone,” reveals Stan. “I’ve always maintained a positive outlook in life.”
For more information on Robinsons Retail's Supermarket Segment, click here
