On virus watch, Villar’s AllHome still bent on opening new stores

Tycoon Manuel Villar Jr.-led retailer AllHome Corp. is fast-tracking its store rollout for the remaining months of the year, banking on growth in provincial areas to offset the slump when most regions were placed under lockdown to curb the spread of the new virus.

AllHome had initially planned to delay new store openings to 2021, but company president Benjamarie Therese Serrano said consumer resilience had emboldened the retailer to build a total of four new stores this year compared to last year amid the raging pandemic.

“We are optimistic in the performance of our provincial stores especially with our most recent opening in Santiago City, Isabela. For the rest of 2020, we have identified at least two more stores to open, ending 2020 with 49 stores, at the least. We have a solid pipeline of new stores around the country and with the help of our affiliates under the Villar Group, we foresee that we can fast-track the completion of these new stores in 2020,” Serrano said.

47 storesWith the opening of AllHome Santiago and Builders’ Center in Evia Lifestyle Center, AllHome’s network currently stands at 47.

Despite the temporary closure of stores during the enhanced community quarantine in the second quarter and the general community quarantine thereafter, AllHome demonstrated resilience, reporting a mere 4-percent drop vis-a-vis sales in the same period in 2019.

AllValue chair Manny Villar said: “These new AllHome stores will be built closer to residential communities as more and more consumers deem it a priority to lessen movement and shop closer to home.”

DistancingHe added the stores offer ample space for shoppers to maintain the physical distancing measures.

The business targets homeowners, architects, interior designers and contractors seeking easy access to home and building needs.

By offering seven product categories—construction materials, hardware, tiles and sanitary wares, furniture, appliances, home wares and linens—AllHome is able to provide the market a complete offering of home improvement and construction solutions.

AllHome also continues to expand its product portfolio with the continuous addition of in-house brands in all its categories. INQ