The family-led Robinsons Retail Holdings entered the segment in 2021 after taking a minority stake in HD Retail Holdings, which operates O!Save stores.
It still owns 23 percent of the business alongside three other institutional investors with equal stakes, its latest annual report showed.
Soaring sales
The company nearly doubled stores to 401 outlets from 207, while net sales surged about 128 percent to $237 million (P13.6 billion).
O!Save operates four distribution centers located in Pampanga, Rizal, Bulacan, and Pangasinan.
Still in the growth phase
At this stage in its growth, O!Save has yet to turn a profit.
Losses last year reached $32.47 million, up about 72 percent from the previous year.
Costs have also been surging as the company ramped up expansion, with total expenses last year reaching $266.75 million from $126.9 million.
Hard discount gaining traction in the Philippines
A hard discount store is a retail format that offers a limited range of mostly private-label products, or goods made by third-party manufacturers but sold under the retailer’s own brand, at low prices.
It’s a well-established concept overseas, especially in Europe where brands such as Aldi and Lidl have flourished. In the Philippines, O!Save competes with the larger Dali chain of stores.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
