Retail sector seen to grow 5%

The retail sector is seen to post a moderate growth of five percent this year, Rustan Supercenters Inc. vice president and general manager Bienvenido Tantoco III said yesterday.

"The retail sector posted a five-percent growth last year and is likely to duplicate that same growth this year," Tantoco said.

Tantoco said there has been an expansion in the retail sector, with more retail space coming into the market.

However, Tantoco admitted, with more retailers there will be more competition and thus some retailers may also experience flat growth.

"It is going to be more competitive," Tantoco said, adding that "consumers are buying basic stuff and fresh food.

Demand for foods like apparel, on other hand, Tantoco noted is relatively soft.

Fernando Zobel de Ayala, chairman and chief executive officer of Ayala Land Inc., is also optimistic about the retail sector despite the recent military takeover of the Ayala shopping center in Makati.

"We’ve had a disruption obviously in the recent incident, but in all our business lines there has been no effect," Zobel said, adding that "I want to make that clear, there’s no effect, and we’re happy about that. So, we have to move on. We cannot let things like that to stop us from doing business."

"But while there remains a palpable degree of uncertainty in the air," Zobel said, "I think things will continue to improve."

However, Zobel said the growth of the retail sector will depend on what else transpires.

He pointed out that in the past, while there was a reduction in many industry, the retail sector kept on moving ahead.

"Some year higher, some years slightly lower, but always very solid. Not all of them make it, but there are many, many good new ideas constantly coming into the system. They can survive even during the difficult times," Zobel said.

He added that even the entry of more foreign retailers would eventually happen.

"They’ll come in gradually. It would depend on conditions. Normally, I guess some investors might focus on some of the larger markets first, but several of them have come in as joint ventures with local partners so there are good names already in our country," Zobel said.