Davao S & R Membership Shopping Update{13}
I wrote an article a little while back about the new Costco styled store, S & R Membership Shopping, that we have coming soon to Davao. Well I happened by their new sales office the other day, and got to meet the new Marketing Officer and Warehouse Manager. They filled me in the the latest news and the expected opening timeline of the new warehouse membership store.
Even prior to my chance meeting with the two employees of the new store, I had noticed how the construction had really picked up speed lately. The frame of the building is now complete, and the walls are being erected. It’s quite a large building, and it appears that they might be doing some kind of underground parking, but I couldn’t be sure of that. As I mentioned before it is directly across the road from the NCCC Mall.
The sales office is located directly across the highway from the store, on McArthur Highway. The Marketing Officer, Sheila Mae C. Lagsub, is the one that approached me as I stopped to shoot a photo of their office. She asked about my interest and as any good sales person would do, asked if I wanted to join. It seems they are already taking memberships applications, and that is one of the main reasons for the new admin/sales office. She invited me inside to chat some more.
I didn’t join at that time, as I was still interested in when the store would actually be open. They confirmed it would be May, but said an actual date had not been set yet. I felt I had plenty of time to get my membership, so I passed for the time being. I will join, there isn’t much doubt of that. The fee was also confirmed as P700 for the year, which is what has been reported previously.
I will note that I now see by the signage that they are offering a P200 check to use at S & R. They didn’t mention that to me, but that effectively brings the membership down to P500. If that is a limited time offer, then I’ll go ahead and avail of the membership sooner than later. Hey (hoy), P200 is P200.
The Warehouse Manager, Ariel C. Angni, was brought out from the back to greet me, as they learned that I had done an article on S & R previously. He couldn’t give me great detail about the products they would be carrying, as many of them change often. We discussed some of the Kirkland brand items, as well as the Tillamook ice creams and cheeses. He mentioned one of the differences than Costco would be that they have sales from time to time. It was nice to meet them both. They seemed to have a real interest in their new endeavor and customers.
If you have questions about the membership, or are ready to sign up, you can contact the Davao sales office at:
S & R Membership Shopping
Davao Branch
G/F Karpentrade Building, Km 2
Mc Arthur Highway, Matina
Davao City, Philippines
+63 (82) 285-2166
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Jan 30, 2013 @ 14:04:01
I am looking forward to this new store. Davao City is really growing.
Jan 30, 2013 @ 14:39:10
This should be a great addition, especially for the foreigners used to this type of store (Costco, Sam’s Club, etc).
The pace Davao is growing is pretty amazing. Will be interesting to see where things are in a few years. Traffic is really getting bad during rush hour already. I haven’t heard much about plans to deal with that.
Jan 31, 2013 @ 10:36:21
Yep, good news for Davao to be sure. I’m a long-time S&R member … they have four stores in the Metro Manila area. They are often the only source for many US items. Well run, usually pretty well stocked, and, as with CostCo their food facility is very popular, a huge part of their business.
Their sales can be outstanding, but they are way, way, way too crowded for me. My “Shopping Sister-in-law” reports that the sales have a lot of bargains, I just never have made it in. Mita and I went to one sale, took more than an hour to wit out the line for parking, then we found the line at the door still hours long … and a peek inside showed it horribly crowded, so we got back in the car and left.
It’s common to tink these stores are foreigner oriented, but any store like this would stave if they only had the foreigner trade … we are really a teeny-tiny part of a gigantic retail market.
S&R was started by the Rustans/Shopwise chain, an Ayala family property. They don’t have stores down there in Davao, so far as I know.
Originally, according to rumor, the Alayas were going to have CostCo in the US actually have some sort of partnership position in the company … hence the number of CostCo-supplied products they feature. But no formal connection with CostCo ever came to pass and Rustans sold to a corporation owned by the Co family. The Co’s also own the PureGold chain .. again a big chain but only operating up here on Luzon.
In May of 2012, PureGold bought the S&R brand and existing chain. The price floored me … 16.5 Billion Pesos. There sure is money in retail here in the Philippines, that’s for sure.
Hope your store gets open soon … it’s not an everyday shopping place but it sure is a great help at times.
Jan 31, 2013 @ 16:28:59
I’m getting more excited as they get closer to opening. My trip to the one in Cebu was a bit disappointing, but I’ve realized I was expecting too much, and truthfully I didn’t have much time to spend there to check it out thoroughly.
The sales sound like something I would avoid, too. I might have the time, but wouldn’t have the patience for that kind of wait. Maybe send someone to wait for me, but I haven’t found those kind of helpers here yet
I’ll only run into Rustans a few times. One was also in Cebu. I liked the supermarket that they had there. Lots of interesting things I don’t see here.
Jan 31, 2013 @ 16:50:45
Yes Rustans (and basically all of the Ayala businesses, including their residential properties) are upscale. Kind of like Dillard’s or Macy’s, where as SM concentrates on the Wal*Mart market.
Jan 31, 2013 @ 17:09:43
Well SM is kind of upscale compared to Gaisano and NCCC here. At least with their prices, if nothing else. I guess Robinson’s (the supermarket and department store in the Ayala Abreeza Mall) is the closest we have, unless I’m forgetting something. I’d be happy to see a Rustans here, wonder why they aren’t part of Abreeza? I’d probably know the story if I’d lived here at the time.
Feb 03, 2013 @ 14:21:46
I was a member for a few years in Manila, when the only outlet was in Rockwell. Maybe things have changed, but, aside from a very few items that I couldn’t find elsewhere, most food related products were only a peso or two cheaper, and in some cases no cheaper, than elsewhere. Why did I have to pay for the ‘privilege’ which allowed me to spend money?
But the worst part, which has kept me away from later versions (most recently in Cebu, and now here in Davao), was not just the long checkout lines, but what followed -another line 5 or 10 meters away, just for a security person to go through all the items on the receipt, checking them off as they were found in the shopping cart, even though everyone has just come directly from the cashier a few steps away! This became such an annoyance that I just stopped going altogether.
If this will NOT be the case here in Davao, I might consider it, assuming they stock enough products which interest me. Hey, it’s been 10 years; maybe things have changed…
Feb 03, 2013 @ 14:53:22
Well the best part will be the items they carry that are not otherwise available here. I wouldn’t personally go there for the items that I could find elsewhere, especially produce.
As to the checking of the receipt, that is exactly how it is done with Costco. Seems they have just copied it.
Feb 04, 2013 @ 18:47:37
Dave,
I just came from S&R last weeked and bought a lampshade set for 2,300 which was originally 3,200 … my sister insisted that we have it tested and she asked the guy to try to assemble and then de-assemble it… thing was when we got home the wring got worn off or something that we cant make it stand anymore… since it took a week for us to figure that one out the warranty has ran out so i could not return the standing lamp. however, i consoled myself with the fact that the other two table lamps that were sold with the set are excellent so its like i got two really nice table lamps for 1K plus each. i would have spent the same in SM and not gotten a good one.
so the point is do test out the merchandise but as soon as you get home put it together and use it coz the return policy is only a few days.
the sales are horrible specially the ones in 2012!!! for me its a health and fire hazard with so many people in the store, the queue just to get inside and everyone (even these so called socialites) behaving like dogs on a rampage. i am sure there have been arguments in the parking lot, in getting a shopping cart much less maneuvering the cart in the store. Unless your putting up a store and buying tons of stuff … the sales is so not worth it for all the hassles.
i just got day after the sale…. sometimes the stuff i want to get are still marked down. for the lifetime tables…. PureGold carries them now too…. and my sister in law who shops at both S&R and Puregold insists that for groceries puregold is the better place to get stuff unless your running after the cheese and icecream and pizza.
and for those of you used to the Costco experience the size of S&R is smaller. I was in a Kroger superstore during the holidays and realized that it was 3x the size of S&R in Congressional and 2x the one in Fort.
have fun shopping!!!
maybelle
Feb 04, 2013 @ 21:21:37
It’s too bad to learn they have no better return policy, if not worse, than what is standard here. That is one of the really nice things about Costco, virtually anything can be returned. It was so bad that they had to limit the returns on electronics to a more reasonable timeframe, but it was very easy to take things back to Costco. Straight cash and no questions asked, other than to find out if it was defective, or not.
I’m not looking forward to the crowds, but the sales probably won’t excite me much anyway.
Thanks for keeping us updated.
S&R Membership Shopping on December - Live Davao
Feb 15, 2013 @ 12:32:30
[...] When is the opening? [S&R Davao] confirmed it would be May. [...]
Aug 14, 2013 @ 09:51:06
I came from Queens, NY, when we saw this Wholesale Warehouse without looking S & R logo or name, we thought we entered Costco Warehouse here in Davao City,.”yoo! this is awesome”! we never missed our combo Pizza, Hotdogs or Italian Sausages & like Chicken Bake in S & R Foodcourt, we even noticed some Costco Products like Kirkland & Tilla… I’ve Creams,” more power to the President of S & R, & we’re proud to be Davaoenyos”!!!
Aug 14, 2013 @ 13:58:55
Brings back memories of Costco for sure. Wish the prices were more like Costco, though.