Metro Retail set to expand store network

Cebu-based Metro Retail Stores Group Inc. (MRSGI) targets to double its footprint over the next five years to cement its position as one of the leading retail players in the country.

The plan was to double the company’s current gross floor area of about 400,000 square meters while embarking on a logistics and supply chain modernization program to support the firm’s store expansion.

“We aim to build on our gains and bring our best-in-class products and services to more areas underserved by modern retail,” MRSGI chair and CEO Frank S. Gaisano said in a statement.

The company recently opened its 48th store at the UP Town Center in Quezon City, bringing its total department store network to 11.

Another department store is set to open at Fairview Terraces Mall, which forms part of MRSGI’s acquisition of department store assets from SIAL Specialty Retailers Inc., a joint venture between Ayala Land, Inc. (ALI) and Store Specialists Inc. (SSI).

MRSGI has also entered into a partnership deal with ALI for the establishment of its stores in four new Ayala commercial developments—a department store and supermarket in Capitol Central in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental; a supermarket in The Shops at Atria in Mandurriao, Iloilo City; a supermarket in Central Bloc in Cebu City; and a department store and supermarket in the Ayala Malls Feliz in Pasig City.

“We look to these exciting opportunities on the horizon, as our readiness to expand is underpinned by our strong financial performance last year,” Gaisano said.