CEBU CITY -- Metro Retail Group, retail arm of Gaisano-owned Vicsal Development Corp., recently opened the first of 10 stores it plans to build this year to reach its goal of expanding the Metro chain to 100 stores by 2017.
“To date, we have about 42 retail outlets nationwide and we plan to more than double that to 100 by 2017,” he told journalists here after the opening of Super Metro Colon hypermarket, the third Metro store, along historic Colon Street in downtown Cebu City.
“We are optimistic and aggressive about expanding into modern retail.”
Two more stores -- located in Carmen town in northern Cebu and in Carcar City in the southern part of the province -- will open next.
A Metro store is also being built in Calamba City, Laguna.
ACQUISITIONS EYED
On top of the 10 stores planned to be built this year, Mr. Ponce said acquisitions are also in the pipeline.
He did not elaborate beyond saying his company was in talks with operators of some regional malls and smaller stores.
“We cannot reach our target of 100 stores by 2017 if we are just going to build. There are acquisitions in the pipeline and we will just rebrand them,” he said in a separate interview.
The existing 42 retail outlets under Metro include at least six outlets under the Tita Gwapa Supertinda brand of community grocery stores that were acquired.
Mr. Ponce also said the company will continue to forge partnerships with property giants like Ayala Land, Megaworld Corp. and Filinvest Land, Inc.
The group also plans to set foot on Mindanao, even as the immediate focus is to expand the chain in the Visayas and Luzon.
Frank Gaisano, chairman of Metro Retail and managing director of Vicsal, said the group has been invited to set up stores in Mindanao.
“We’re on the lookout for opportunities there -- especially in Davao -- because Mindanao is a huge retail market,” Mr. Ponce explained.
On the sidelines of the same event, Mr. Gaisano told journalists that the opening of Super Metro Colon is part of the revitalization program of the Colon Merchants Association. Colon, touted as the oldest street in the country, used to be the central business district of Cebu.
“We are working with the Colon Merchants Association and the Office of the Mayor to revitalize Colon. Our vision is to turn Colon into the Ginza of the Philippines,” he said.
Asked for his outlook on the province, Mr. Gaisano noted that Cebu is the toughest retail market in the country.
“All the other retail outlets are represented in Cebu. In fact, so many of the retail outlets have either originated from Cebu or are migrating here. Bankers are telling us that if you can survive Cebu, you can survive anywhere,” he added.
Mr. Ponce said the competitive edge of the downtown market consists of offering great value deals.
“You don’t want to compete in prices,” he stressed.
“What you want to compete in is value. The more affordable you can make a valuable product, the better experience your customers will have,” he explained. -- John Paolo G. Bago
Source: Businesswolrd
No comments:
Post a Comment