Posted on September 02, 2013 10:14:07
PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
LISTED Cosco Capital, Inc. plans to
acquire shopping centers to fast-track its foray into community malls, officials
of the holding firm of retail tycoon Lucio C. Co said on Friday last week.
Teofilo A. Henson, a company director
who is in charge of Cosco’s real estate business, said the firm is looking to
build its first community mall in the province of Cagayan.
“Right now, we are looking at
Tuguegarao. That is a possible site. We have studies now ongoing,” Mr. Henson
told reporters on the sidelines of the company’s stockholders’ meeting in
Muntinlupa City.
He also said the firm may also acquire
existing malls to move “faster” in this foray.
“There are also existing malls that
were offered to us. So we are evaluating [the offers],” Mr. Henson said,
declining to name the malls, which according to him are located in Luzon.
Cosco President Leonardo B. Dayao, in
his report to stockholders that day, said the company plans to open its first
community mall “in 2014.”
Mr. Dayao had said in May that the
company was looking to spend P400 million for each of the eight community malls
it plans to build in the next three years. These malls will add to 192
supermarkets of Cosco subsidiary Puregold Price Club, Inc. as of end-June.
LIQUOR DISTRIBUTION
At the same time, Mr. Dayao said,
company has begun “mass market” distribution of its imported liquor product,
Excelente brandy.
“We began the mass market
[distribution] of Excelente in June,” he said.
Mr. Dayao also said the company hopes
to seal distribution agreements with other supermarkets aside from Puregold and
S&R.
The company targets to sell 500,000 to
one million cases of Excelente brandy in the next two to three years, Jose
Paulino L. Santamarina, president of Cosco unit Premiere Wine and Spirits,
Inc., said on the sidelines of the meeting.
“We just hope we can take 5% of the local
market in two to three year,” said Mr. Dayao, who noted that the local market
is dominated by Emperador Distillers, Inc.
Cosco’s net income surged to P488.30
million in the first half from P1.42 million a year ago after absorbing various
assets of the Co family early this year. The group of businessman Lucio C. Co
early this year infused P74.8 billion worth of equity in the company --
formerly named Alcorn Gold Resources Corp. -- by transferring to it:
• a 51% stake in supermarket operator
Puregold Price Club;
• 100% stake in commercial property
developer and lessors Ellimac Prime Holdings, Inc.; Go Fay & Company
Incorporada; SVF Corp.;
Nation Realty, Inc.; 118 Holdings,
Inc.; Patagonia Holdings Corp.; Fertuna Holdings Corp.;
• 100% stake in liquor distributors
Premier Wine and Spirits; Montosco, Inc.; Meritus Prime Distributions, Inc.;
and
• 100% stake in oil storage tanks and
facilities lessor Pure Petroleum Corp.
Cosco shares shed four centavos or
0.39% to close P10.10 apiece yesterday from P10.14 each last Friday. -- Cliff
Harvey C. Venzon
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