October 3, 2014 8:12 pm [
manilatimes.net ]
by Kristyn Nika M. Lazo
THE Villar Group bared plans to
restructure its chain of All Day convenience stores and expand its portfolio to
100 locations in Metro Manila this year as part of a strategy to bolster the
presence of its purely Filipino retail brand.
Manny Villar, chairman of convenience
store operator All Value Holdings Corp., said the restructuring involves
“refining the model, better food, better product lines, and stores renovation.”
The “All Day” brand of convenience
stores was previously known as the “Finds” brand.
Villar said that their All Day
convenience store brand will be ready for advertisement campaigns and full time
expansion next year.
“We have to slow down a bit this year
because we are refining our model. But I am still confident that we would hit
100 stores this year. Next year, we’re moving a lot faster, because we’re more
confident in the model,” he said.
“I’d like to think we would hit a
hundred, but we’ll settle first for about 60 additional stores next year. I’ll
go for a hundred, hopefully. But what’s settled is to open 60 to 70 stores [in
2015],” Villar added.
The former senator said the group is
still establishing the All Day brand, being an all-Filipino brand that will
compete among the foreign convenience stores entering the market. Franchising
will not be an option until end-2015, he added
To date, the group has already
established 80 All Day stores in Metro Manila.
Villar said it would cost P5 million
to P7 million to put up one All Day store.
Asked if they plan to expand outside
Metro Manila, Villar said the plan is to expand in Luzon in 2015.
Villar said the booming convenience
store segment is slowly attracting the market of the sari-sari store and
restaurant segments. He cited the versatility of convenience stores, which can
cause challenges to the restaurant sector in the long term.
“Convenience stores are versions of
our sari-sari stores. But as the country progresses, people are inclined to
patronize convenience stores. [And] convenience stores are practically
restaurants, more than restaurants that can also branch out to grocery, which
will challenge the restaurants in the future,” he said.
At present, big companies are doing
their own strategies to enter into the convenience store format mostly via
joint ventures with foreign convenience brands.
Among the strong players include SM’s
Alfamart, Ayala Group’s FamilyMart, Puregold Price Club Inc.’s Japanese import
Lawson, Gokongwei family’s Ministop, US-based Circle K, and market leader
7-Eleven by the Philippine Seven Corp.
Aside from the convenience store
business, the Villar Group said it plans to build more malls, hotels, and
condominium towers through its wholly owned companies Vista Land and Lifescapes
Inc. and Starmalls Inc.
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