By Richmond S. Mercurio (The
Philippine Star) | Updated November 3, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Mall, banking
and retail conglomerate SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) of tycoon Henry Sy may have
found a new gold mine in the form of minimarts.
In its latest report, leading online
stockbroker COL Financial Group Inc. indicated that the SM empire would benefit
further through its recently-forged partnership with Indonesian minimart giant
Alfamart.
“SM’s most recent partnership is with
Alfamart, one of the leading operators of minimarts in Indonesia. With this
partnership, SM will not only be accelerating its expansion in the provinces
but also be the first mover in the minimart segment in the Philippines,” COL
Financial said in its report.
With the minimart concept’s success in
Indonesia, COL said there is no doubt that the minimart format would also
become well-received in the country.
“The minimart format is new in the Philippines
but has been proven a success in Indonesia, a country with many similarities
with the Philippines,” it said.
Minimarts have a smaller retail format
that would not be in direct competition with the convenience store segment.
COL said the product selection in a
minimart is different from convenience stores as the former carry fast-moving
supermarket items that are “ready-to-cook”
compared to “ready-to-eat’ items in convenience stores.
It added that the pricing is also
different as convenience store items are priced at a premium, while minimart
items would be at parity with larger stores.
“Thus we can see that minimarts are an
extension of the supermarket format and will greatly accelerate penetration of
the formal retail sector,” COL said.
In July, SMIC partnered with
Indonesian minimart operator Alfamart to open the first store in Trece Martires
in Cavite. There are at present five Alfamart branches in the country, most of
which are in the provinces.
SMIC earlier said it is putting up as
much as four new Alfamart stores in the southern part of Metro Manila this year
on top of its first three branches as part of efforts to test the market.
The local Alfamart stores occupy
around 150 square meters of floor space, offering products ranging from basic
groceries, fresh chicken, medicines and food-to-go options round-the-clock.
“Alfamart Philipines still has no definite
long term expansion plan as it is still in testing phase. Further evaluation
will be made once it reaches critical mass of around 100 stores,” COL said.
“Although the company has a positive view on
the minimart segment, it will take years before Alfamart Philippines starts
contributing to profits,” it added.
SMIC is the holding firm for the
businesses of the SM Group, which is into real estate, retail and banking. The
Sy family is also expanding in other areas such as energy and infrastructure.
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