S & R Membership Shopping
Davao’s got a new and exciting store coming, S & R Membership Shopping. Exactly when is unclear (I think I could use that phrase, and maybe I do, in every article I ever write about life here), but I’ve heard anywhere from November (well that’s here and isn’t going to happen), to May of next year. May looks possible, but I wouldn’t put any money down on it.
For those of you unfamiliar with S & R, just think Costco. It is modeled after that, is laid out exactly the same, and even carries many of the “Kirkland” brand products. Before you get too excited, it’s not Costco. It doesn’t have nearly the variety or the great prices, but for the Philippines it’s pretty unique.
I had the opportunity to visit one a couple of weeks ago when I was in Cebu. It was one of the stops on my list, as there were some particular items that Costco carried and I was hoping to find them here. Unfortunately I didn’t find any of those. For the most part I discovered a lot of items that could be found elsewhere here in Davao. The exceptions were some of the Kirkland Brand items. Even many of those can be located around town @ GMall and even NCCC, on occasion.
I didn’t do a lot of price checking, but when I did it didn’t reveal any great bargains. For instance, we had recently purchased a Samsung washing machine, one of the little Asian models. S & R had the exact one. It was priced over P2500 more than I paid. Granted we got ours on sale, but even our original price was lower than what they had. Honestly I was surprised by that.
The produce section was also a disappointment. As far as I could tell it was all local, the exact same stuff you would see in SM or NCCC Malls. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but maybe I thought there might be some hard to locate items there. I didn’t spend much time in that section, so it is possible I missed something.
Another section I didn’t go to, as I don’t eat any, was the meat section. Now it is my understanding that they have some good deals there, and this is one of the highlights of their stores. I’ll have to see what others say when it opens here.
One of the positives for me was the food service area. It was just like Costco with the pizza slices, hotdogs, drinks, etc. I got a LARGE slice of cheese pizza for P89, and thought it was a pretty good deal. Good pizza too, just like I remembered.
Another section I glanced over but was impressed by was the bakery. They have their own baker and there was some quality stuff being produced. In addition to the breads, were fresh tortillas and pitas, both regular and whole wheat. Interestingly I ran into these same items at another place in Cebu and questioned them about it. They said they were in fact the baker for S & R and would also be the sole baker for the Davao branch when it opened. March was their estimate by the way.
There was also the famous tire section, off in it’s own room, just like Costco back home. I did not check prices, so that is another potential gem. The room was really packed, but they were doing some kind of Halloween show in there, so take that for what it’s worth.
They also carried some cheeses and ice creams that I had not seen around here. Tillamook is the brand I that I noticed and is one that I’m familiar with, being from the west coast of the US. The cheese selection looked limited, but it’s possible that it they carried more, as I saw some empty spaces. It seemed they had a reasonable selection of Tillamook ice cream, but don’t expect the 31 flavors or so at the local supermarket back in the states.
I left feeling pretty dejected about the whole thing. At that point I didn’t really care when the Davao branch opened, as I didn’t see a reason to make a special effort to visit them. Upon reflection I feel my expectations may have been too high. Running into the baker later got me somewhat excited again, as I enjoy fresh tortillas and pitas. Also, thinking about it, there are many times I went to Costco and didn’t buy much, as the stock changed often.
I’ll withhold my judgment until they open. I’ll join, as a membership is only P200 P700 per year if the information I got was correct. After a few visits I should have a better idea if S & R is something that’s worth the effort. I’ll let you know how it goes.
I am sure most folks will be excited. Being from the USA and shop at Costco it is no big deal. Just have remember to get the items that is used daily. To, paper towels, zip lock bags and such or canned goods. A person can be broke shopping their in. Hurry lol.
I had quit shopping at Costco prior to leaving. Most things were in too large of quantity for me to use. There were always good deals to be had though, especially with clothing. Sure would like to find a pair of Levis here for the Costco price.
Ha ha.. I thought we found some Levis in Uyanguren for much less than the US price, Randy! ha ha
Too bad those weren’t my size. Well they were, but I’ll need to “adjust” to my new waistline here
Actually I thought those were a great deal for the price. Not the same quality, but pretty good just the same.
You should see the prices now
Gone from bad to worse.
Too crowded too. Always a mad house.
been a member for over 5 years… now thinking what for? the only reason to go is when the sales are up… but this year 2012 its been a huge letdown… they simply cannot handle the volume of people who show up and unless your gunning for those buy 1 take 1 lcd tv’s there’s really no reason to line up that long for stuff you actually dont need.
i have been renewing my membership only for the following items:
1. the multi-vitamins
2. the christmas decors
3. my mother’s supply of aveeno shampoo and conditioner
4. the kitchen stuff (actually i dont even buy every year)
5. the bake goods particularly moist chocolate cake and hawaian soft breads
now is this enough reason to renew the P700 annually. for me yes. but when you actually go to landmark and puregold sometimes you start scratching your head
Interesting the fellow I went with said the membership was P200. I looked it up and you are correct. P700 is a lot more if there isn’t a lot there that one wants. I’ll probably give it a one year trial and go from there.
We don’t have a Puregold here in Davao. From what I understand they own S & R now. Different target customers I guess.
I believe that Maybelle is correct on the membership cost.
She is. I checked it out later on their website. P200 sounded a lot better, but I’ll try a year and see how it goes at the P700 price.
Me too, Randy. I suspect that I’ll be a member way beyond a year, but a year membership will give me the chance to check it out and make a decision for the long term.
Let’s just hope they get opened soon so we can check it out. May is pretty far off, and there is no guarantee that’s when it’ll be done either. Seems like they missed an opportunity not getting it opened for the Christmas season.
just to add…. entering S&R is likely to blow a hole in your pocket. always bring minimum P10K every time you enter. it can be mindless shopping of stuff you dont need at all but looks nice in the store….
to be fair though… before this years “hell week of S&R sales” when things were still manageable. i got the supply of my whole family (and i mean my whole family = parents, siblings, aunts) towels and bedsheets…..i introduced my staff at work to the 500-600 threadcount bedsheets and they got memberships too….sadly since 2010 they stopped carrying this threadcount and everything is 200-300 instead.
aside from bedsheets they do carry really good knives and cutlery sets plus stuff you can get to give as wedding gifts… for the christmas wrappers = one of my sisters said lets just go to divisoria.
I didn’t get a chance to go done the non-food aisles. I was in a hurry and the things I were looking for all consisted of food items. It’s good to know that they carry quality household items, and even if they are expensive at least you have the option.
Your comment about the mindless shopping applies to Costco as well. The feeling I always have there is that I should buy it, if I have any question, as it may not be there next time, and I need to justify the membership.
I’m not in position to waste money here, so I don’t see myself falling into that trap here. At least I hope not.
Interesting read mainly because family & a few friends are looking forward to the Davao branch. A few make a point to go to the Manila S&R when they fly there. Not so much on my end though. I’m not a bulk buyer & I always left Costco with basically 1 or 2 items from the music & book section (and, yes, the cheap pizza).
We’ll see. Another option in the city, I guess. But I can wait until the hype dies down mainly because I don’t feel like wading through the tight & curious crowds and traffic that it will most undoubtedly bring.
Traffic isn’t anything I thought much about before moving here. I’m not driving, but of course it affects me none the less.
With every new mall & large store such as S & R it’s only getting worse and worse. I wonder if anything can be done to alleviate it, and how much thought has been put into it.
Oh, you don’t want to know my opinion about how much thought they put into traffic planning.
Let’s just say that the impressive plan for a public rail line is going as swiftly as that Samal bridge.
Well, at least it’s nice to know there was a plan.
Last I heard about the Samal-Davao bridge was linking it with a new airport on Samal. I think someone must have just taken a trip to Cebu (Mactan) and spent a little too much time in the bars to come up with that ingenious idea.
Feyma and I can’t wait for S & R to open! It is within walking distance of our house too!
Much more advantageous for you guys. I wouldn’t hesitate on the membership if I lived that close, even if I didn’t use it that often.
By summer next year, us too, Bob.
What was that I used to always say about the bridge? ha ha….
Not in our lifetime. Is that pretty close?
Ha ha.. pretty much!
since you guys are still commenting on S&R here are my good finds and good price.
1. when they do buy 1 take 1 on corell plates during christmas sales – your wife and yaya will love these plates easy to wash and microwave/oven safe
2. when they do buy 1 take 1 on bed sheets during christmas sales again – am personally a hoarded of this.
3 knives and cutlery – really good wedding gifts
4. chocolates and candies and cookies = for the kids
5. steaks = australian and US sourced
6. cheese is so so … i heard there are good artesanal cheese from davao so try that out instead.
7.tissue paper and paper towels
8 detergents, cleaning liquids by the buckets
9. extra virgin olive oil and pomace olive oil
10. pots and pans … really just get the boxes that have the most count … in the end thats better than buying one by one.. im on my 3rd big set box this year… always end up giving my siblings the pans that we dont use here … its a good buy if you have several siblings that you can gift the extra pots and pans too
11 good quality plastic wares like laundry baskets, cabinets, chairs and tables. they carry rubbermaid brand
12. buffet and picnic chairs and tables… they carry the US brand one (i forgot the name) but all the restaurants in boracay and here in manila hoard those tables for their catering and resto businesses. i got two for my family five years ago for our sunday gatherings…. it still works despte being flooded by ondoy
so go bring your credit card over… coz i guarantee the first year your missus will go ga-ga like I did …. happy shopping!!!
Sounds as though the sales are when the really good prices are evident.
I know there will be a lot of expats interested in the meats from the US & Australia.
Sure sounds a lot better than it looked to me
Wow, I have not heard of S&R until now, although my wife has just now affirmed their existence. I work for Costco in Seattle and know that we have warehouses in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. After mentioning Philippines to the management, they have no real game plan for PI and most likely won’t pursue it in the near future. Most likely because of the land ownership issues. Costco owns all of there properties outright and make it a priority to maintain ethical land purchases abroad. We may arrive Cebu this Feb before Davao and I will try to get into the S&R or a good comparison. As always, thanks for the good info Randy
Brian
Our S & R is moving along here now. You can see the structure of the building, so I think the April-May timeline is still possible.
Those that I know are excited to see it get open. We’ll see how it works out. I wonder if there is any kind of official relationship with Costco, or if they just buy the goods and send them over.
I was just in S&R in Congressional Avenue over the weekend with my mother. She needed wine for CHristmas gifts. budget was 300 per bottle and she needed more than 25. we ended up getting 3 boxes total 36 red wine bottles. forgot the name but cost was 277 per bottle. she also got 3 boxes of johnny walker gold edition cost per bottle was 1400 each. she also got 4 packs of assorted chocolates and i got the absolut 1000ml bottles on sale at 3 for 1900. … then like any other sale hound… she ended up in the blankets section and placed 2 blanket sets in the cart. that was it and we checked out before the other christmas hounds show up….it was already 3pm and the store was steadily filling up…mind you this is in QC not Makati or Pasay so it was already getting filled up. total bill was a little over P16,000 ….. remember me saying mindless shopping??? this was not one of those but the bill was still significant.
so good luck on getting your S&R stores in Cebu and Davao …. it will be one hell of a shopping experience.
by the way, S&R is not owned by Costco. think they have a purchase agreement though coz there’s some Costco items in S&R … S&R has the same owners as Pure Gold. we also notice that sometimes PureGold has some of the S&R stuff available too.
have fun grocery shopping!!!
I hope I don’t end up spending that kind of money there. My budget isn’t set for that
You are right about Pure Gold owning them. They bought them out a year or so ago, if I remember right. The general consensus is that they have some kind of agreement or partial ownership from Costco. Doesn’t really matter, I suppose.
and I’m off to the US this friday… looking forward to checking out Kroger and Walmart.
how come some of the posts here have photos? how does that work?
thanks/Bel.
Have a good trip, Maybelle. Stop by Trader Joe’s, too. I miss that store.
The comments that show photos and what not, are using Gravatars. Do a Google search and you can set up your own very easily.