News From : DagangHalal.com (22 Apr 2013)
 | Robinsons Supermarket and Rustan’s Super Center, two of the largest department stores in the Philippines, recently joined the 10th Malaysia International Halal Showcase (Mihas) signaling interest to expand halal products amid expansionary growth on the island of Mindanao. Held on April 3 to 6 in Kuala Lumpur, Mihas also gathered retailers from Greenhills Shopping Center, a large mall in Metro Manila’s San Juan City, looking to expand retail coverage to include halal-certified products, such as food and beverage items, toiletries and cosmetics, drugs and food supplements, fashion, and even Islamic finance and logistical solutions. |
Robinsons Supermarket, part of Robinsons Land Corporation, the second largest commercial land developer in the Philippines by revenue, is planning to expand operations in Mindanao to further market halal-certified products.
Robinsons Supermarket currently has seven branches in Mindanao, including those in General Santos, Cagayan de Oro, Pagadian, Ozamis and Davao City, and slated to open a new branch in Zamboanga City.
Popular luxury department store Rustan’s will open its first branch in Mindanao in 2013, located in Centrio Mall, the newest shopping complex of Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao’s second largest city and northern urban hub.
The Philippines 2.2-million Muslim population in Mindanao remains largely separated from the economic boom being experienced in Metro Manila, Cebu and, to some extent, Davao, Mindanao’s largest city.
The peace framework agreement signed with the Moro rebels and the Philippine government in October 2012 changed this, giving access to untapped potential for retailers to enter Mindanao through the estimated $2.3-trillion global halal market, where not only Muslims have signaled interest.
Indeed, the cleanliness and business responsibly factors intertwined into halal certification regimens have attracted non-Muslims who also value health-conscious and safe products.
“Halal is a safety issue,” Dr Winai Dahlan of Thailand’s Chulalongkorn University’s Halal Science Center told Inside Investor, “namely maintaining physiological, chemical and biological safety in food and other products.”