SM eyes small family-owned grocery stores

MANILA, Philippines - The SM Group, controlled by the family of the country’s richest tycoon, Henry Sy, is looking to acquire small family-owned groceries/supermarkets based in the Visayas and Mindanao as it aims to further widen its geographic footprint and maintain its dominance in the retail industry.

On the sidelines of a forum sponsored by ING yesterday, SM Investment Corp. (SMIC) chief financial officer Jose T. Sio said the group is beefing up its retail portfolio through acquisitions.

While he refused to name the target companies, Sio said the SM Group might close some deals before the end of the year.

SM’s food retail business of 140 outlets as of end-June 2012 include 34 SM Supermarkets, 73 SaveMore stores and 33 SM Hypermarkets.

Aggregate earnings of the retail group, consisting of a chain of department stores and a separate chain of supermarkets and hypermarkets, amounted to P2.7 billion in the first half this year, up 7.8 percent from the same period in 2011.   Total sales climbed 8.3 percent to P73.8 billion.

SM plans to open a total of 37 new outlets this year (five department stores, six supermarkets, 21 SaveMore branches and five hypermarkets), higher than the 34 stores it opened in 2011.

The retail group, which currently corners about 30 to 35 percent of the local retail market, posted net earnings of P5.8 billion last year.