200th Savemore store eyed in 2016

SAVEMORE, SM’s compact neighborhood store patterned after the SM Supermarket, aims to reach its target 200th store in 2016 as it vows to continue its expansion plan following the success of its operations for 17 years.

The mid-size food retail store has been on an expansion mode amid the competition from old and new players in the retail business.

In less than two decades since it opened its first store in Riverbanks, Marikina in 1998, Savemore has expanded to 130 stores nationwide as of Sept. 30, 2015.

From sales of P300 million in 1998, Savemore has also recorded P33 billion in sales in 2014.

Cora Guidote, SM senior vice president for Investor Relations, said Savemore was well positioned to take advantage of growth opportunities across the country, debunking concerns over a saturated Philippine retail market.

She said that in other countries like Indonesia and Thailand, formal retail means store counts in the thousands.

By end of 2015, Savemore is expected to open 30 more stores in key locations that will propel its 2016 target of achieving 200th store milestone with its “Here to Serve” thrust that highlights quality and friendly services.

Savemore became a household name for its concept of providing last-minute shopping needs that spares customers the trouble of traveling to the supermarket for smaller purchases, thus saving time, effort and transport costs.

Originating from the SM Supermarket concept, Savemore emerged to address a need as shopping habits of Filipinos also evolved.

THE FIRST Savemore branch opened in 1998. Today, it has 130 stores nationwide.

People looked for more last-minute essentials or smaller purchases which prompted the concept of a compact neighborhood store similar to the SM Supermarket.

The idea back then was to bring SM closer to communities where trusted neighborhood stores and formal retail don’t exist.

“We wanted to bring SM’s brand of shopping experience nearer to the consumer and nearer to the neighborhoods. We can only do that if we put up standalone stores. This is part of SM’s calling to go to areas where you can serve better,” Savemore president Jojo Tagbo said.

This setup is mirrored in suburban and even provincial areas where Savemore stores have sprouted in locations not normally accessible to large retailers.

Spanning 1,500 to 2,000 square meters, Tagbo said the company’s ability to accelerate the roll out of stores was largely due to its size, making it the fastest growing format in SM’s food retail brand portfolio.

In certain municipalities, Savemore has become more than a neighborhood store.

It is in fact considered a smaller version of a “mall” as it offers some of the mall’s conveniences such as diversity in the merchandise, and “one-stop shop” services like convenient banking, bills payment, money remittances, and pharmaceutical needs.

The presence of a Savemore store in some municipalities often signals progress and attracts more investments.

In fact, a good number of Savemore stores have been awarded Top Taxpayers by local governments and the majority of its branches are recipients of Gold Bagwis Seals for service excellence from DTI.

Aside from these, Savemore also opens job and business opportunities for locals.

From about 21,000 Savemore employees, 80 percent of its workforce is sourced from host communities.