THE popularity of e-commerce in the Philippines, especially in this time of pandemic, has attracted veteran marketers and executives to throw their hats into this industry that is estimated to grow four times—from $3 billion in 2019 to $12 billion—by 2025.
Proof of which is homegrown e-commerce firm GrowSari, wherein three of its new top officers, who came from some of the biggest local and global companies, are dedicated to empower and elevate the over one million sari-sari stores registered in its ecosystem.
Backed by 18 years of experience, GrowSari Chief Growth and Marketing Officer Maimai Madrid-Punzalan was the head of marketing for Johnson & Johnson Philippines (J&J Philippines) and regional director for Baby Care in Southeast Asia for J&J. Her longest stint was at Procter & Gamble (P&G), where she served as the senior regional director for Feminine Care Asia.
At GrowSari, the marketing veteran leads a team handling demand generation and growth and brand marketing for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and e-services. She hopes to nurture customer growth so sari-sari store owners can reap bigger rewards.
“Over 60 percent of FMCG shopper spending happens in sari-sari stores and yet they do not enjoy the profits that wholesalers and bigger retailers have. We hope to improve the lives of the more than 1 million store owners and the families they serve through our platform,” Punzalan said.
As part of GrowSari, Sandeep Bhalla, lead advisor of the financial services team, develops the financial services vertical of the company. He also gives advises on strategy and implementation for financial institutions and consumer practices, focusing on financial technology, risk management, digital transformation, and more. These he draws from his more than two decades of experience in consumer financial services and management.
“Financial inclusion is a critical goal of the Philippine government. Sari-sari stores, while an important part of the Philippine economy, have been left out of basic financial services by mainstream banks. At GrowSari, we see us having the unique opportunity to enable financial services capabilities for the sari-sari stores and hence bring them into the mainstream of banking,” he noted.
Completing the team is Leandro Alea, who leads the operations of GrowSari. With 25 years of experience under his belt covering operations and the end-to-end supply chain practice, he is on top of manufacturing, demand planning and forecasting, inventory management, procurement services, strategic sourcing, global logistics, warehousing, fleet and transportation, and e-commerce.
“Sari-sari stores play an important role in Philippine retail and the national economy. An estimated 84 percent of Filipinos buy goods from them, making stores a valued member of any community. We at GrowSari are looking forward to streamline the process so store owners can earn more and enjoy better service levels,” he said.
Since its inception, GrowSari has been already a pool of top talents with its cofounder and chief executive officer, Reymund “ER” Rollan, being also a veteran in some of the world’s biggest organizations.
These included his career in Singapore, where he held various roles at P&G, including senior manager for consumer and market knowledge. He worked at Boston Consulting Group as an expert consultant at the Center for Consumer and Customer Insight in Southeast Asia. This was followed by a career at Unilever, where he led brand development for its ice cream business in Southeast Asia and Australasia.
His vast experience in dealing with the sari-sari store distribution channel helped him build and expand the tech-enabled business-to-business platform company.
“GrowSari is able to empower and encourage the sari-sari store owners to reach their full potential with the wide selection of affordable products, e-businesses, and financial assistance the platform offers. At the same, we strive to uplift the lives of store owners and the communities they serve. We want to make sure we help the entire sari-sari store ecosystem, so building the right team to do that is necessary,” Rollan stressed.