A corporate newsletter documenting the launch of the Co-Lab Exchange, a new collaborative platform for the RRHI Store Expansion Department. It covers the first meeting held on January 16, 2026, where business units from supermarkets, specialty retail, appliances, DIY, pharmacy, and lifestyle concepts shared expansion plans, challenges, and opportunities.
This is the first issue of the Co-Lab Exchange newsletter, an internal publication for the RRHI Store Expansion Department. It documents the launch of a new collaborative platform that replaces the traditional Store Expansion Coordination Meeting, bringing together multiple business units to share plans, challenges, and opportunities.
The newsletter opens with an editor's note by Ruther John Garcia, introducing the Co-Lab Exchange as a shared platform for site sourcing, acquisition, lease management, and alignment across supermarkets, specialty retail, appliances, DIY, pharmacy, and lifestyle concepts. The first meeting took place on January 16, 2026.
Section 2 profiles the presenters and their business units: RJ Garcia and Kris Gulangayan on lease management and site sourcing, Karen Villanueva on Robinsons Supermarket, Mayette Rosal on TMP/Shopwise, Ana Luna on RDS/Toys R Us/Sole Academy, Rhoanne Echalas on DIY Group, Dhariane Dayo on Robinsons Appliances, Omar Venida and EC Cabo on Southstar Drug and Rose Pharmacy, and John Martin Reyes on Premium Bikes. Daiso and Super50 strategies are also outlined.
Section 3 presents the 2025 store network and 2026 outlook with numerical data for 19 business units, including Robinsons Supermarket, Shopwise, The Marketplace, Robinsons Easymart, Uncle John's, True Value, Handyman, Pet Lovers Centre, Robinsons Department Store, Toys R Us, Spatio, Sole Academy, Beauty, Robinsons Appliances, Southstar Drug, Daiso, Super50, Rose Pharmacy, and Premium Bikes. The Premium Bikes target is 238 stores in 2026 and 338 by 2030.
Section 4 captures key takeaways from the meeting: collaborate across business units, use data-driven decisions, recognize that growth includes relocations and exits, and treat lease management as part of expansion. Section 5 outlines the expansion mindset for 2026, including new stores, co-location, and the Lease Intelligence Agent pilot for monitoring lease expirations. Section 6 announces the DIY Group as the next Co-Lab Exchange architects.