AllHome pins hopes on new stores to get it through pandemic

Newly listed home improvement retai­ler AllHome Corp. is banking on new store rollouts, especially now with the easing of lockdown protocols in many parts of the country, to drive its growth momentum in this challenging year.

The Villar-led group, which debuted on the local stock exchange late last year, expanded its store network from 23 in 2018 to 45 by the end of 2019. It has 35 stores in Mega Manila, five in Luzon outside of Mega Manila and five in Visayas and Mindanao.

“We have a solid pipeline of new stores around the country and have the ability to fast-track construction of those stores given our affiliation with the Villar Group’s commercial and residential companies,” said AllHome president Benjamarie Therese Serrano. “We are just timing the opening of those stores given the pandemic.”

She said AllHome’s advantage was its proximity to residential communities.

“Consumers now deem it important to shop closer to home and in a space that’s not overly crowded for their own safety. Being a home essential provider, AllHome will continue to provide service to those who are fixing their own homes or contractors who have resumed construction activities,” AllHome vice chair Camille Villar said.

AllHome has seven product categories: construction materials, hardware, tiles and sanitary wares, furniture, applian­ces, housewares and linens.

Aside from recent expansions in Mindanao, AllHome also shored up its presence in northern Luzon regions with the addition of two new branches: Gapan, Nueva Ecija and San Ildefonso, Bulacan. It is now preparing for the opening of its Santiago, Isabela, store by the third quarter.

AllHome grew its first quarter net profit by 30 percent year-on-year to P270.2 million, driven by sales from new stores that opened late last year, when it raised fresh funds from its stock market debut. It ended the first quarter with P19.9 billion in assets, increasing from P19.7 billion at year-end.—DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA