WHILE typhoon Milenyo was wreaking havoc all over Luzon last week, leaving residents without power, water and telephone services, people trooped and found their “second home in shopping malls, fastfood restaurants, 24-hour convenience stores and coffee shops.
            
Francisco, a 36-year-old businessman residing in a Makati condo, recounted the many times he went in and out of Jollibee, McDonalds, Starbucks and Mini Stop to grab a bite and take advantage of the power still being produced by the generators of these stores.
            
“I just sat there and read magazines. It was better than nothing at all, he said. “Because of Milenyo, I’ve learned to appreciate the importance of convenience stores and fastfood joints.

The Mini Stop chain of the Robinsons Convenience Store Inc. was one such store that found opportunity even in the midst of the storm.
            
“Many of our stores stayed open during the time the typhoon hit the metropolis last week, thanks to the efforts of our internal operatives as well as the dedication of our franchisees and direct store crews, Johnson Robert Go Jr., business unit group head of Robinsons Convenience Store Inc., told BusinessMirror.
            
“As we were one of the handful retail establishments that remained open at the time, it was natural for the consumers to gravitate towards our stores.
            
Go said that while a few of their stores sustained some damage as a result of the typhoon, such was not enough to curtail their service to the buying public. 
            
“We have no official numbers for sales during the typhoon day [as our electronic Point-Of-Sale [POS] system was compromised], but some stores reported brisk sales, with a few hitting record one-day highs, said Go.
            
Jollibee and McDonalds, meanwhile, were the runaway winners in the fastfood category. Hamburgers sold like hotcakes and chicken meals were feasted on. The corporate headquarters of the two chains, however, were not able to give exact sales figures triggered by the Milenyo onslaught.
            
Shopping malls, the biggest refuge for the public last week, also registered huge sales volume, mostly reflected in their cinemas, supermarkets and food courts segments.
            
Even as the numbers are not yet out, it was evident from the crowds that trooped to the malls that they were big winners even in the midst of the typhoon.
            
SM Prime Holdings, operator of the SM Mall chain, said their supermarkets as well as their food stores were jampacked.
            
“What we experienced in our malls was that there were lots of people who came and stayed until the closing time due to lack of electricity in their respective residences,a company official said.
            
At the height of the typhoon Thursday, however, SM had to close ahead of schedule its four malls in the Luzon, namely, Lucena City, Batangas City, Lipa and the Mall of Asia. They all resumed normal business operations Friday.
            
For its part, Ayala Land, developer of the Glorietta and Greenbelt shopping malls in Makati City, said their businesses operated normally, some utilizing back up power, although selected food stalls had to close earlier for lack of supply.
            
Robinsons Land Corp., which handles the operations of the Gokongwei group’s shopping malls and hotels, also hosted big crowds, be it in the cinema, supermarket and restaurant areas.
            
“Apart from the regular goers, there were also the people who checked in our hotels, including Holiday Inn Galleria and Crowne Plaza. Despite the typhoon, we were able to sustain our services at a normal pace, a key officer of the company said.