Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. of the Gokongwei Group said it earmarked P3 billion to P5 billion in 2021 capital expenditures to open new stores.
RRHI said in a presentation during a recent analysts’ briefing it planned to open 80 to 120 new stores across its retail brands this year.
The group, which operates supermarkets, grocers, drugstores and specialty hopes, said same-store sales were expected to rise to 3 percent this year after declining 8.9 percent in 2020.
It also plans to increase its e-commerce business to account for 2 to t3 percent of total sales this year by expanding online presence through its own internet platforms and third-party platforms.
RRHI said e-commerce sales increased nearly three times in 2020 from the previous year’s level.
Meanwhile, RRHI said net income fell 25.2 percent in 2020 to P2.9 billion from P3.9 billion in 2019 as overall sales were hurt by the effects of the pandemic.
Net revenues in 2020 declined by 7.3 percent to P151 billion. Full-year sales included the two months’ results of Rose Pharmacy, a leading chain in the Visayas, which it acquired in October 2020.
“2020 was a year of difficulties for many businesses. COVID-19 might be considered a
first in our lifetime, yet we remained resilient and focused on providing the best products and
services to our customers. We remain steadfast in our commitment in 2021, confident that we can drive sustainable growth for all of our stakeholders,” RRHI president and chief executive Robina Gokongwei-Pe said.
Blended same-store sales growth declined 8.9 percent last year after non-essential formats were closed for eight weeks in 2020.
The SSSG of the supermarket segment rose 7.7 percent while the SSSG of the drugstores
segment ended flat, as sales of prescription drugs slowed down in the second half with less people visiting hospitals.
The SSSG of the department store, do-it-yourself and convenience store segments were down in 2020 but showed improvement in the fourth quarter as quarantine restrictions eased.
RRHI had a network of 2,157 stores, which included 178 supermarkets, 16 hypermarkets, 70 minimarts, 49 department stores, 225 do-it-yourself stores, 472 convenience stores, 829 drugstores and 318 specialty stores as of end-2020.