ROBINSONS Supermarket Corp. has sold its stake in beauty product manufacturer and semi-frozen beverage firm Chic Centre Corp. as part of efforts to rationalize its business.
Its parent Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc. (RRHI) told the stock exchange yesterday about the divestment of its entire shareholdings in Chic Centre Corp.
“As Robinsons Supermarket focuses on its core business, Chic Center, a company engaged in manufacturing, is no longer aligned with its core capabilities which is retailing,” it said.
The price of the transaction was not disclosed, but it noted the sale is “not expected to have any material adverse effect on the business, operations and financial condition of RRHI.”
Chic Centre Corp. was acquired by RRHI in 2016. It distributes cosmetics, nail care and healthy slush products in the Philippines.
The company owns nail polish brands such as Bobbie, Chic, Colortrends and Rain for Nails, and has a 75% share in the country’s nail care product market, according to RRHI’s 2018 annual report.
In 2015, it started distributing slush and juice products for Ministop, Petron, business process outsourcing buildings, schools and Movieworld.
The company said as of end-2018, Chic Centre Corp. had around 2,000 outlets for its beauty products and around 1,000 slush operators across the Philippines. It competes with Caronia, OMG and Klik for nail polish, with Ever Bilena and Nichido for make-up, and with FamilyMart’s slush for juice.
Earnings of RRHI in the first three quarters of 2019 dropped 25% to P2.88 billion, amid a 26.5% rise in net sales to P116.16 billion. Its shares at the stock exchange gained P1.10 or 1.54% to P72.40 each on Thursday. — Denise A. Valdez
