Metro Retail Stores Group
Metro Retail Stores Group is a Philippine retailer operating department stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets and neighborhood grocery stores.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Metro Retail Stores Group Inc., commonly called Metro Retail or Metro, is a Philippine retail company headquartered in Mandaue, Cebu. It operates a multi-format store network that combines department-store merchandise with food retailing, hypermarket operations and smaller neighborhood grocery outlets. The company serves consumers primarily in the Philippines and has historically concentrated much of its presence in the Visayas, while also expanding into Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon and Bicol. The business traces its family-enterprise origins to White Gold Department Store, established in 1949 by Modesta Gaisano and her five sons. After Modesta Gaisano died in 1981, her sons developed separate business interests. In the following year, Victor and Sally Gaisano and their children Margaret, Jack, Edward and Frank established Metro Gaisano Department Store and Supermarket. This enterprise became the foundation for the later Metro Retail organization. Metro's development reflected the growth of organized retail in the Philippines. It initially built its identity around department stores and supermarkets, then extended its geographic reach beyond Cebu into major cities across the Visayas. The company subsequently entered other Philippine regions, including Central Luzon and Metro Manila. Its Metro Manila expansion included the opening of Market! Market! in the early 2000s, a significant step in placing the business in one of the country's largest and most competitive metropolitan retail markets. The group uses several formats to address different shopping missions. Metro Department Store focuses on general merchandise and traditional department-store categories. Metro Supermarket provides food and everyday household goods. Super Metro Hypermarket combines broader grocery operations with general merchandise, while Metro Fresh n’ Easy Neighborhood Store is designed for more localized and convenient shopping. Together, these formats allow the company to operate in large shopping destinations as well as smaller community-oriented locations. A 2014 Euromonitor assessment described Metro as the largest department-store and hypermarket operator in the Visayas by the relevant measures, and as the region's second-largest supermarket operator by retail sales value. These descriptions indicate the company's strong regional position, although they are historical market assessments rather than current rankings. By November 2015, the company was reported to operate 46 stores in the Philippines across the Visayas, Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Calabarzon and Bicol. A Mindanao location was planned for a later stage of expansion. Metro Retail became a publicly listed company on the Philippine Stock Exchange on November 25, 2015. The listing marked an important transition from a primarily family-developed retail business to a public Philippine corporation and supported the visibility of its expansion strategy. Metro remains a Philippine-focused retailer whose competitive proposition is based on a broad store portfolio, regional scale and the ability to combine general merchandise and grocery shopping under recognizable Metro-branded formats.
History
Metro Retail Stores Group emerged from the Gaisano family's long involvement in Philippine retail. In 1949, Modesta Gaisano and her five sons founded White Gold Department Store. The business established an early family foundation in department-store retail, but the family later divided its commercial activities. Following Modesta Gaisano's death in 1981, her sons pursued separate business interests rather than continuing under a single unified enterprise. In 1982, Victor and Sally Gaisano, together with their children Margaret, Jack, Edward and Frank, founded Metro Gaisano Department Store and Supermarket. The new enterprise combined general merchandise and food retailing, creating the format foundation for what would later become Metro Retail Stores Group. The company developed first from its Cebu base and then expanded into other important cities in the Visayas. Metro's subsequent growth involved both geographic and format diversification. In addition to department stores, the group operated supermarkets and later developed the Super Metro hypermarket and Metro Fresh n’ Easy neighborhood-store concepts. Its expansion reached Central, Western and Eastern Visayas, followed by selected markets in Central Luzon, Metro Manila, South Luzon and Bicol. The opening of Market! Market! in Metro Manila in the early 2000s represented a notable move beyond the company's Cebu and wider Visayan roots. The company's regional scale was recognized in a 2014 Euromonitor report, which characterized Metro as the largest operator of department stores and hypermarkets in the Visayas and the second-largest supermarket operator in the region by retail sales value. These rankings describe the market position reported at that time and should not be treated as an evergreen assessment of the company. By November 2015, Metro Retail was reported to have 46 stores across several Philippine regions. The company also identified Mindanao as a future expansion area, illustrating its intention to extend its national footprint. On November 25, 2015, Metro Retail Stores Group was listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange. The listing was a major corporate milestone, giving the family-developed retailer a public-company structure as it continued to operate multiple store formats in the Philippine market. Metro's history is therefore defined by a transition from a Cebu-based family retail operation into a publicly listed, multi-format Philippine retailer. Its business model has remained centered on accessible general merchandise and food retailing, while its store portfolio has been adapted to department-store, supermarket, hypermarket and neighborhood-shopping environments.
- 2015
Philippine Stock Exchange listing
[1]Metro Retail Stores Group is listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange on November 25.
- 2000
Expansion into Metro Manila
[1]The company expands into Metro Manila, including the opening of Market! Market! in the early 2000s.
- 1982
Metro Gaisano Department Store and Supermarket is founded
[1]Victor and Sally Gaisano and their children establish the department-store and supermarket business that becomes the basis of Metro Retail.
- 1981
Family business interests separate
[1]After Modesta Gaisano's death, her sons pursue separate business interests, preceding the formation of the Metro Gaisano enterprise.
- 1949
White Gold Department Store is established
[1]Modesta Gaisano and her five sons establish White Gold Department Store, creating the family's early foundation in Philippine retail.
Products and positioning
A Philippine multi-format mass-market retailer combining department stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets and neighborhood grocery outlets, with a historically strong presence in the Visayas.
Department store
Metro Department Store
The Metro Department Store format provides broad general merchandise, including apparel, household products, appliances, personal goods and seasonal or lifestyle merchandise. It represents the group's traditional department-store proposition and is intended to serve routine household purchasing as well as discretionary shopping.
Supermarket
Metro Supermarket
Metro Supermarket stores focus on groceries, fresh food, packaged food, household consumables and other everyday necessities. The format complements the group's department stores and gives Metro a recurring food-retail presence in the communities it serves.
Hypermarket
Super Metro Hypermarket
Super Metro Hypermarket combines supermarket operations with a wider general-merchandise assortment. The format is designed for larger shopping trips in which customers can purchase food, household necessities and selected non-food products in one location.
Neighborhood grocery store
Metro Fresh n’ Easy Neighborhood Store
Metro Fresh n’ Easy is the group's smaller neighborhood-store concept. It is intended to provide convenient access to fresh food, groceries and everyday essentials in locations closer to residential communities than the company's larger department-store and hypermarket formats.
Brand decisions
2015
Public listing on the Philippine Stock ExchangeStrategyBackground
After developing a multi-format retail network across several Philippine regions, Metro Retail moved to a publicly listed corporate structure.
Action taken
The company listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange on November 25, 2015.
Aftermath
The listing increased the company's public-market visibility as it continued its regional and national expansion plans.
Recent events
Metro launches Virtual Metro Community Bazaar[2]
Reported:
Metro Retail Stores Group spearheaded the Virtual Metro Community Bazaar in partnership with Vicsal Foundation. The online bazaar offered products from social enterprises and other participating organizations.
Metro Retail reports nine-month earnings[3]
Reported:
Metro Retail Stores Group reported earnings of P658 million for the first nine months of 2019, up 44.5 percent from the prior year.
Metro Retail announces planned store openings[3]
Reported:
Metro Retail said it was set to open Metro IT Park Supermarket and the second floor of Metro Ayala Center Cebu by the end of 2019. It also said three stores were slated to open in 2020.
Sources3 sources
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