Buy or Be Bought
By hereandthere
@hereandthere (45628)
Philippines
March 21, 2017 8:44am CST
I try to support smaller drugstores, department stores, and supermarket chains. I knew that SM Savemore Supermarket already bought into Waltermart back in 2013 (50:50 partnership per online articles), but I was dismayed to find out yesterday that they've also bought Cherry Foodarama in 2015. So, even if the signage out front is still Waltermart or Cherry, SM will still benefit from both shoppers. It's honestly disturbing.
Would you ever buy, or be willing to be bought out, by a competitor?
Are you concerned about small brands and businesses disappearing so that there's only one or two dominant brands left?
17 people like this
16 responses
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
21 Mar 17
more brands mean more variety and quality.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
21 Mar 17
by the way, you're a business owner, right? how would you feel if a bigger brand wanted to buy you out or merge with you?
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
21 Mar 17
cherry foodarama was a supermarket that started in the 1960s, they only have a a few branches.
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
21 Mar 17
@sol_cee so it's not obvious that the money goes to them, too?
1 person likes this
@sol_cee (38669)
• Philippines
21 Mar 17
@hereandthere it's interesting to note that even if SM bought it, it still has its name.
1 person likes this
@epiffanie (11325)
• Australia
25 Mar 17
When we're over there, we only do our grocery shopping at SaveMore .. their location is very convenient to us ..
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
25 Mar 17
it is, but i notice that brands they carry can be limited, so i also go to a different supermarket when i want to buy certain brands.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
23 Mar 17
@JudyEv so it's more a service to the community. i guess you will be selling the sound system?
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
21 Mar 17
i never understood the need to be not just number one, but the only one.
you're a business owner, too, with the music shack, but you probably don't have a competitor because of your location and your place actually benefits everyone. will you sell it if someone offers to buy it?
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (381739)
• Rockingham, Australia
22 Mar 17
@hereandthere The Shack isn't registered as a business. It doesn't actually make us any money as the money from the people that attend goes to the performers. We just take enough to pay for the hire of the sound system and the insurance. When we leave here the new owners might like to carry on with it or they might not.
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
23 Mar 17
we have a Save-more supermarket here now, and a big SM department store is in its finishing touches now. Robinson's is also constructing its own. i believe the smaller department stores should improve their sales more so they won't be out-shadowed by these big department stores and super-malls.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
23 Mar 17
sm is really aggressive in bringing malls and supermarkets to the provinces. in a way, it's good since there are related local business that thrive on them like rental rooms and eateries for employees.
in the past, the only other department store chain i heard of was gaisano but in the vismin area
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
25 Mar 17
@ridingbet the only rustan's i know is in cubao. but i remember when i was very young, there was good earth emporium in manila.
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
23 Mar 17
@hereandthere the latest that i heard is Rustan's. i don't know where they will construct the building for this supermart.
1 person likes this
@almostoveryou (4954)
• Philippines
22 Mar 17
Yes, I'm concerned about that. This is why I also try to support small stores that have been serving our small town or community for many years already. I think it's great that these humble stores still thrive despite the presence of the big fish.
It's sad to know that Walmart's been bought by Save More. I used to shop in the Dasmarinas branch and really love the items there. It's still a good place to shop, I think.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
25 Mar 17
i've known about waltermart when the cashier started asking if i had an "advantage card" instead of a "plus" card. now this, i thought i was shopping at cherry, but the cashier asked if i had an "advantage" card, the plastic bags were green, so were the cashier's uniforms. 
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
26 Mar 17
@almostoveryou that's my beef with savemore, too. there are brands they don't carry, example palmolive shampoo. what they'll have are the sachets, not bottles. or if they did have them in bottles, they're superbig.
1 person likes this
@almostoveryou (4954)
• Philippines
25 Mar 17
@hereandthere i hope sm will still retain the "walmart" feel despite the buyout. i try to shop at different grocery outlets in an effort to strike a "balance". i don't know if i even make a difference, but i hope that in one way or another, i'm able to help fellow pinoys maintain their jobs. just this morning, my husband and i decided to shop at metro supermarket. i actually enjoyed checking out items there that i never see at sm or robinsons. what more, the price of Spam luncheon meat is only at Php 131! we haven't had spam in weeks so i thought it was a good time to get one for a good price. :o)
1 person likes this
@AmbiePam (120533)
• United States
21 Mar 17
I really hate to see the mom and pop stores go out of business. Until my grandmother recently went to an assisted living facility she shopped at a mom and pop supermarket, called Doc's. It's more expensive, as are most smaller stores. I guess they have to do it to break even with all the competition from the bigger stores. However, she hates getting around in the big stores, and I guess that helps business.
It would be nice to be able to hold out against bigger competition, but I think it must get more difficult every day.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
26 Mar 17
it also made us less inclined to entertain at home, to cook. we meet and have meetings with friends and family outside. we eat out before going home.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
21 Mar 17
it becomes a monopoly that benefits a few already superwealthy families
1 person likes this
@Tampa_girl7 (54714)
• United States
21 Mar 17
We also try to support our small stores and businesses.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
21 Mar 17
i've always felt that my purchases would have a bigger impact on a small business, while a huge brand would hardly notice if i stopped going there for several months.
@Jessicalynnt (50523)
• Centralia, Missouri
22 Mar 17
We see a lot of that, it's hard for little mom and pop shops to compete with say, walmart
1 person likes this
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
21 Mar 17
The smaller brands and businesses ARE disappearing. The bigger companies have bigger purchasing power and they can keep costs down to give the consumer better prices . . . the smaller guys can't compete. That being said, it seems that the big guys are also having problems and they are either downsizing the business or being bought out by others. I have tried to support the smaller businesses (and the remaining ones), but in the end, they ultimately had to close shop.
1 person likes this
