Robinsons Retail honored JG Summit chair James Go for 46 years of service, Robinsons Retail chair Robina Gokongwei Pe for 41 years and her brother Lance Gokongwei for 38 years during an October 5 celebration recognizing 85 longtime employees and executives.
From counting underwear to running an empire
No job was too small, even for the children of the late taipan John Gokongwei Jr., whose daughter Robina started out counting women's underwear at the family's lone department store in Manila.
In 1984, the then-23-year-old receiving clerk famously lost count after more than 100 pieces and had to start again, much to the frustration of a delivery boy eager to leave.
Lance had his own brush with the basics, recalling how he once tagged women's underwear, an experience that taught him a simple lesson: “All roles are important.”
Four decades of growth
Their uncle James Go has been with the business since its first department store opened in Ermita in 1980, when Robinsons Retail was still a small family operation.
Robina also credited her father for trusting her with the business, her mother Elizabeth Yu-Gokongwei for teaching her fairness and her aunt Lily Gokongwei-Ngochua for keeping a close watch on operations in Cebu.
Robinsons Retail president and CEO Stanley Co, another longtime company leader, credited the people who helped him grow throughout his career.
“I think that’s one of the reasons I stayed. Robinsons has always kept me curious, challenged me to grow, and surrounded me with people who pushed me to become better,” Co said.
Still growing
From one department store, Robinsons Retail has expanded to more than 2,700 stores nationwide, alongside over 2,100 franchised TGP drugstore outlets.
“As Robinsons Retail grows, we want our people to have opportunities to build their careers here. That means helping them learn new skills and take on new responsibilities,” said chief human resources officer Marco Angelo Padernal.
Go thanked fellow awardees for their years of service and expressed hope that the business would continue growing for another century.
—Edited by Miguel R. Camus
