Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc., the retail unit of the Gokongwei family, is spending P5 billion to roll out more stores in 2016.
The company’s planned capital expenditures in 2016 represent a substantial increase from P3.14 billion it spent in 2015.
Robinsons Retail said in a presentation it expected organic expansion to reach more than 200 stores in 2016 and would continue to explore mergers and acquisition.
The bulk of the new stores will be convenience stores and supermarkets, it said.
The retail firm said same-store-sales growth was projected at 2 percent to 3 percent while gross profit margin was seen to increase by 10 to 20 basis points.
Robinsons Retail is one of the leading multi-format retail groups in the Philippine and enjoys market leading positions across all business segments.
It currently operates 10 retail formats under six business segments, including department stores, supermarkets, home improvement stores, convenience stores, drug stores and specialty stores.
Robinsons Retail was operating 1,506 stores with total gross floor area of 974,000 square meters as of end-2015.
The company entered the coffee shop business with the opening of Costa Coffee shops in several locations in Metro Manila last year.
It also ventured into smaller-format stores like Robinsons Easymart for supermarket and Robinsons Townville for community mall ito reach a wider market.
The company had 10 community malls as of end-March.
The retail firm earlier said it would explore expansion into other retail segments such as home furniture, sporting goods, school and office supplies, which would complement the company’s existing portfolio.
The company booked a net income of P4.34 billion in 2015, up 21.9 percent from P3.56 billion in 2014 on positive same-store sales growth and contribution from newly opened stores.
Consolidated net sales hit P90.88 billion in 2015, up 13 percent from P80.40 billion in 2014.
“We have also gotten into a good start this 2016 with solid same-store sales growth for the first two months of the year as we benefited from increased consumer spending from a still robust domestic economy. We will continue with out footprint expansion, with focus on areas outside Metro Manila Looking for potential mergers and acquisition continues to be part of our strategy in growing the business,” Robinsons Retail president and chief operating officer Robina Gokongwei-Pe said.