Robinson’s Convenience Stores, Inc.

---

Mini-stop – Building up the warmest and friendliest convenience store

On May 29, 2003, Robinson’s Convenience Stores, Inc. opened its 54th Mini-Stop store in España. This latest development came a long way from its first Mini-Stop opened at the MRT Central Station in December 2000. Its number of stores climbed up since then to become a unique combo store, combining fast food with grocery products. This is indeed a breakthrough in the competitive convenience store retail scene.

“There is really a market need that is not being served by other convenience stores in the Philippines,” said Wilfredo Camarillo, General Manager of RCSI. “We plan to have 100 stores at the end of this year and in 2006, we envision to have 500 Mini-Stop stores in Metro Manila.”

Unique concept

Mini-Stop’s combo store concept is unique, claimed Camarillo. The concept was born in Japan as a wholly owned subsidiary of Josco Co. Ltd with the first Mini-Stop opened in July 1980 at Okurayama in Yokohama, Japan. Its network broke the 100-store mark with 80 franchised stores and 20 stores directly managed.

The first overseas store was opened in Seoul, South Korea in November 1980, and in March 1998, 1,000 Mini-Stop stores were in full blast operation, 922 were franchised and 78 stores were directly managed.

In the Philippines, Mini-Stop is the only convenience store that serves in-store prepared food products with dine-in corner for consumers, targeting the B and C households in Metro Manila.

“Right now, we are very aggressive in the introduction of new products every other week, and continuously market and develop products that are not yet in convenience stores that we believe are needed by our target market,” added Camarillo.

Mini-Stop’s best-selling products include the soft-serve ice cream, as well as the microwaveable meals line that features the Japanese rice toppings like the Gyudon and Katsudon, the pasta line, and the sandwich products that include its most popular, Kariman meat-filled sandwich.

Magic formula

The combo store concept is beyond the mere convenience shopping. According to Camarillo, he believed that the store just cannot stand on its own. The foundation should be built and the system should be in place. For Mini-Stop, its competitive advantages are numerous. “For one, look at 20 years experience of Mini-Stop Co., Ltd. in Japan, as well as the strong retail and manufacturing experience of Mitsubishi Corporation and Robinsons Retail Group, that backs up Mini-Stop in the Philippines.”

Great store location that is always clean, excellent customer service, and a wide variety of merchandise in a combo store format are part of the formula for successfully managing a convenience store, he added.

“Since Mini-Stop operates in a 24 x 7 mode, service to customers has to be consistent. I would like to hear from our customers that our service is excellent and second, the goods that they would find at the store are just what they need. There should always be excitement whenever they go to the store,” Camarillo claimed.

Technology at work

The faster pace of lifestyles has brought about constant reinvention of the way the retail stores operate, and the goods delivered, presented, and sold. Advancements in technology have pushed virtually all sectors, especially in retail, to find better and faster ways of doing business.

At Mini-Stop, Camarillo further claimed that the stores are fully computerized and that the technology infrastructure is reliable to support the day-to-day operations of every store.

A powerful, integrated, and convenient TEAMPOS (Point-of-Sale) system from Fujitsu Philippines provides the store real-time sales figures any time of the day. A Merchandise System (MD), which includes ordering tool, consolidation and management of the store’s merchandise inventory cost, retail, and GP, is also provided by FPI. The system is linked to a Planogram and the Order Book to enable the stores to easily manage gondola space and stock replenishment. The Fujitsu Primergy server is one of Mini-Stop’s main servers that run these mission-critical applications. Aside from the server, FPI has also provided maintenance service, Fujitsu projector, and laptops to RCSI.

“Mini-Stop Japan has recommended Fujitsu as the brand to use in the POS system so we are very confident with FPI as our technology partner in the Philippines. FPI engineers have provided fast response time when there is a technical concern and they continuously monitor the systems to make sure they are up and running all the time,” Camarillo said.

Mini-Stop’s other technology systems include the Platinum System, a reliable, stable, and integrated software used for accounting and financial management. The system also has a module on purchasing and inventory that Robinsons Distribution Center, Inc. (RDCI) uses for its purchases and inventory management.

The Exceed System is a fully functional state-of-the-art Warehouse Management System that provides efficient warehousing and logistics operations of RDCI. The system is vital in order management, replenishment, location management, cycle counting, inventory control, dispatch, real-time inventory, and merchandise visibility.

RDCI is a logistics partner of Mini-Stop and joint venture company of Mitsubishi Corporation and Robinsons Retail Group. With the aid of sophisticated and responsive logistics, stores can afford to set up smaller backrooms and minimal stocks.

The advanced warehouse management system, under the consulting agreement with Best Logistics Partners of Ryoshoku, the biggest wholesale and logistics company in Japan, and the latest technology employed by RDCI in distribution ensure efficient and timely delivery of quality products.

Franchising opportunity

Capitalizing on the entrepreneurial spirit of Filipinos, RCSI is optimistic that it will get enough franchisees to help in rolling out more Mini-Stop stores in Metro Manila. For RCSI, franchising is a way to go in a successful convenience store operation to fuel growth of new stores and provide the right push for RCSI to improve its service to both the franchisee and the customer.

Moreover, RCSI is on an aggressive campaign to get more franchisees and Camarillo said a lot of inquiries from interested parties of all walks of life have been pouring in to show positive response.

For Camarillo, the key to running a successful convenience store is to franchise as much as it can. At present, five Mini-Stop stores are franchised and RCSI is targeting 30% of total stores are directly managed by the company, while 70% are franchised.

“We have turned over five stores out of the 54 stores today to franchisees because we want to make sure that we have perfected the system before we turn over to them. We can confidently tell them that this business works,” he stressed.

For those interested in being a franchisee of Mini-Stop, please contact Robinsons Convenience Stores, Inc. at 671-7202 and 671-7223.

---