MANILA, Philippines — Food retailer Goldilocks Bakeshop Inc., part of the portfolio of Sy family-led conglomerate SM Investments Corp., is nearing the 1,000-store mark this year, driven by the expansion of franchises.
The 57-year-old bakeshop brand on Friday said it planned to roll out 30 franchise-owned stores within the year. Of these, SM Investments said seven had already been opened so far.
This brings the total store network of Goldilocks to 932, of which 366 are franchise-owned.
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“Each of our franchisees is deeply embedded in their communities and this intimate local knowledge is crucial because it allows each bakeshop to feel less like a chain and more like a neighborhood store,” Goldilocks chief operating officer Jerson Go Uy said in a statement.
60 new branches in 2024
Earlier, Goldilocks announced that it aimed to open 60 new branches and franchises within 2024, to end the year with 986 total stores.
SM Investments will earmark P115 billion in capital expenditures this year to bankroll expansion plans, particularly in the provinces.
READ: SM Investments raises full-year capex to as much as P115B
The conglomerate booked a 6-percent growth in first-quarter earnings to P18.4 billion, driven by the strong performance of its banking units. Revenues likewise inched up by 4 percent to P144 billion.
As of end-March, SM Investments’ total assets stood at P1.6 trillion.
Meanwhile, real estate subsidiary SM Prime Holdings Inc. plans to issue $3 billion in bonds through a European medium-term note program to bankroll expansion plans.