PUBLICLY listed Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. (MRSGI) recently opened its 49th store at the Fairview Terraces Mall in Quezon City, as the company leverages on its growth and future expansion.
“We continue to harness opportunities presented by highly populated, fast-growing areas, like Quezon City, as we build on our growth and double our footprint in the next five years,” said Arthur Emmanuel, president and chief operating officer of MRSGI.
“This wouldn’t have been possible without the continued support of our trusted partner Ayala Land, with whom we share the same commitment for excellent customer service,” he added.
Standing at four stories with a total gross floor area (GFA) of 14,600 square meters (sq m), this is part of the department store assets MRSGI had previously purchased from SIAL Specialty Retailers Inc.—a joint venture between Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) and Store Specialists Inc. (SSI). The Metro Department Store is the group’s eighth store in collaboration with ALI. In April MRSGI also opened a two-story department store in UP Town Center, bringing its department-store network to 12.
The homegrown retailer had forged an agreement with ALI for the establishment of its stores in four new Ayala commercial developments in Capitol Central in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental; Mandurriao, Iloilo City; Central Bloc in Cebu City; and Ayala Malls Feliz in Pasig City.
Currently, Metro stores across all formats are located in key cities in Central, Western and Eastern Visayas, as well as in Central Luzon, Metro Manila, and South Luzon. The 49-store network also includes 24 supermarkets and 13 hypermarkets.
MRSGI is investing around P10 billion to P15 billion for its five-year plan to double the size of its network of establishments to 800,000 sq m in terms of GFA.
As of this month, the retail chain has already secured 160,000 sq m of retail space, or 41 percent of the target, including the two new retail outlets in partnership with ALI. The company intends to bankroll its footprint expansion by tapping the equity market, using its internally generated funds, and acquiring loans.
MRSGI is engaged in the buy, sell and trade of goods, wares and merchandise of every kind and description, and in general to carry on the business of a supermarket, hypermarket and department-store operation. For the first quarter of 2016, its net income after tax reached P52.8 million, or 69.2 percent higher than P31.2 million during the same period last year.
This was attributed to a 7.4-percent growth in same-store sales and a 9.7-percent growth in all-stores net sales.