[ Malaya.com.ph ] April 29, 2008
By ALBERT CASTRO
SM Supermarket recently took control of Makro Warehouse Club and will set up more SaveMore grocery outlets.
SM’s expansion will thus go both ways, wholesale and retail, making it a "food marketing company", according to Herbert T. Sy.
Makro is the single biggest and oldest wholesaler in the country.
SaveMore outlets will be increased to 10 this year.
SM’s setting up of SaveMore is in direct competition with Rustan’s Fresh Express and Robinson’s smaller grocery chains.
Sy, SM Supermarket president said the management of Makro was effectively turned-over to SM Supermarket after its mother company SM Investments, Inc. (SM Investments) increased its indirect holdings in Makro at the end of last year.
"We will now manage Makro " Sy said.
Makro is originally a partnership between SM Prime Investments of the Sy Group and SHV Holdings N.V. of the Netherlands, a Dutch company involved in trading of food and non-food consumer goods. Makro was established with the Ayala Group in 1996.
Makro caters to the various needs for professional customers and retail businesses. It is a high volume, low price, low cost, no refills cash and carry wholesaler that provides the buying conditions and products suited to professional consumers like hotels, restaurants, caterers, and small retailers or sari-sari store and service-end users.
Ayala has since then liquidated its stake in Makro in early 2000, according to an Ayala Land company official claiming the since "Makro is not among Ayala Land’s core competency."
SM Supermarket’s control of Macro was reached after SM Investments gained additional stake in Pilipinas Makro, Inc., after it bought an additional control in Rappel Holdings, Inc. which owns 50 percent of Pilipinas Makro. SMIC directly has a 10 percent stake in Makro.
Forsyth Equity Holdings, Inc., another stockholder of Rappel, in late last year sold SMIC a 40 percent stake in Rappel, which increased SMIC’s control of the company to 80 percent.
"As a result of the acquisition of an additional 40 percent interest in Rappel, Makro also became a subsidiary of SMIC through the 60 percent direct and indirect ownership," SM Investments said.
Makro currently has 15 stores in "key areas" in the country — Cainta, Imus, Cavite, Makati, Mandaluyong, Novaliches, Sucat, North Harbour, Cebu, Davao, Pampanga, Batangas, Cagayan de Oro, Ilioilo, Cubao, and Las Piñas. It has an active membership of about 85,000.
SM Supermarket meanwhile is looking to increase its "SaveMore" groceries in the country this year, concentrating on setting up shops in areas not occupied by an SM mall.
SaveMore will have three new locations — Cebu, Nagtahan, Manila and Tanay, Rizal, according to Sy and will bring the total Save More stores to 10.
"We want to bring to a greater public the concept of affordable but quality goods," said Sy who added that the three new locations would have an area of between 1,000 to 4,000 sq.m.
SM Supermarkets and SaveMore Supermarkets have a total gross selling area of 153,120 square meters — the size of about 38 football fields.
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