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Tag: Ace Hardware

  • Robinsons Retail chief to head Ace Hardware international arm

    Robinsons Retail chief to head Ace Hardware international arm

    Ace Hardware Corporation, the world’s largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative, announced today that Jay Heubner, President and General Manager of Ace International will retire March 1, 2021 after 38 years with the company.

    Heubner joined Ace Hardware in 1983 in the IT department and quickly rose up through the organization to become a director. In 2004, he took a position on Ace’s Technology Value Team within Retail Operations and was then tapped in 2007 to help lead a special retail project. In his next role, Heubner lead Operations Development and Retail Training until he was promoted in 2015 to the position of President and General Manager of Ace International, a subsidiary of Ace Hardware.

    “Jay is one of the most effective, highest character, servant-hearted leaders I know,” said John Venhuizen, President and CEO of Ace Hardware. “His wise, encouraging influence has had a significant impact on the business and made Ace a better place. I am grateful for Jay’s contributions and wish him and his family all the best as they embark on this exciting new chapter.”

    Over the coming weeks, Heubner will focus on ensuring a smooth leadership transition for Ace International.

    Effective April 5, David Goh will assume the role of President and General Manager of Ace International. Goh is currently managing director of Philippine-based retail chains Ministop convenience store, Southstar Drug and TGP (The Generics Pharmacy), which are subsidiaries of Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc.

    Prior to this role, Goh held several leadership positions across various industries including a Vice President position at Singapore Airlines, CEO of 7-Eleven Singapore and CEO of Cold Storage, a grocery chain throughout Singapore.

    “David has a remarkable track record of success in growing businesses and transforming the customer experience,” said Venhuizen.

    Goh and his family will be relocating from the Philippines to Singapore to be closer to Ace International’s highest growth regions.

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  • Fourth mall in Bulacan by SM Prime

    Fourth mall in Bulacan by SM Prime

    SM Prime Holdings has continued its expansion in northern Luzon with its latest mall, SM Center Pulilan, in Bulacan.

    Its 66th mall in the Philippines, it adds 27,000sqm in gross floor area (GFA), taking SM Prime’s total GFA to 8 million sqm.

    Opening with 80 per cent occupancy, SM Center Pulilan offers three levels of retail and dining including such brands such as Ace Hardware, BDO, Miniso, Simply Shoes, SM Appliance, SM Hypermarket, Surplus and Watsons.

    It joins the group’s first three malls in Bulacan – SM City Marilao, SM City Baliwag and SM City San Jose Del Monte.

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  • SM Prime Holdings opens 60th mall

    SM Prime Holdings opens 60th mall

    An 80,000 sqm mall has been opened in eastern Metro Manila by Southeast Asian integrated property company SM Prime Holdings.

    As its 60th mall in the Philippines, SM City East Ortigas reinforces its commitment to continue expanding there given the economy’s strong performance, says SM Prime president Jeffrey C Lim.

    SM Prime’s malls in eastern Metro Manila include SM Megamall in Mandaluyong, SM Marikina and SM Center Pasig. It also has SM Angono, SM Masinag, SM San Mateo and SM Taytay in Rizal Province.

    sm-store

    SM City East Ortigas has opened with almost 80 per cent of its space leased out. The two-level mall houses SM’s flagship retail brands The SM Store and SM Supermarket, plus its specialty stores such as Ace Hardware, SM Appliance Center, Uniqlo and Watsons. It will also have a Cyberzone, wellness tenants, four digital cinemas and four Director’s Club cinemas, as well as dining destinations. There are 650 parking slots.

    SM Prime opened SM Cherry Congressional a year ago in Quezon City, as well as SM City San Jose Del Monte in Bulacan in April and SM City Trece Martires in Cavite in May.

    Of its 60 malls in the Philippines, 22 are in Metro Manila, 29 in Luzon, five in the Visayas and four in Mindanao. SM Prime also has six malls in China. SM Prime is also involved in residential development, leisure properties and hotels.

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  • SM Retail sales boosted

    SM Retail sales boosted

    SM Retail sales grew across all operations – which consist of both SM Markets and The SM Store.

    Total sales grew 8 per cent to P48.8 billion (US$1.0 billion) in the first quarter, while net income rose 16 per cent  to P1.5 billion.

    SM’s food retail business continued to expand, adding five new stores. At the end of March, SM Retail had 314 stores comprising 53 The SM Stores, 45 SM Supermarkets, 44 SM Hypermarkets, 140 Savemore and 32 WalterMart stores.

    Two acquired Cherry Foodarama grocery stores are now fully operational inside SM Cherry malls in Shaw and Congressional Avenue.

    SM earlier announced the merger of SM Retail with a group of specialty retail stores such as Ace Hardware, SM Appliance Center, Homeworld, Our Home, Toy Kingdom, Watsons, Kultura, Baby Company and Sports Central. The combined entity will have over 1900 outlets and 2.4 million sqm of GFA.

    “We are pleased with SM’s strong underlying growth in the first quarter as consumer spending continued to be vibrant and sentiment about the Philippine economy remains strong. Our continuing efforts to improve efficiencies in all our businesses have also helped ensure solid earnings growth,” SM president Harley Sy said.

    SM Investments posted a 12 per cent growth in recurring net income in the first quarter of 2016. Consolidated net income (including non-recurring items) stood at P7.0 billion for January to March, up 3.6 per cent from P6.7 billion year-on-year. Consolidated revenues grew 7 per cent to P69.8 billion for the first quarter.

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  • SM Investments to consolidate its retail assets under one entity

    SM Investments to consolidate its retail assets under one entity

    February 29, 2016:

    SM Investments Corp (SM), the holding company of Philippine-based conglomerate SM Group of Companies, is merging its retail arm SM Retail Inc with related retail firms earning revenues up to $1 billion.

    SM earlier disclosed that its board of directors approved the merger of SM Retail with companies operating leading local retail chains such as Ace Hardware, SM Appliance Center, Homeworld, Our Home, Toy Kingdom, Watsons, Kultura, Baby Company, Sports Station and several other specialty stores. Together they operate 1,374 outlets and in 2015 delivered total revenues of P53 billion.

    SM is expected to own 77.3 per cent of the enlarged SM Retail.

    The merger will complement the existing retail portfolio of SM Retail which includes 53 SM department stores, 44 hypermarkets and 213 supermarkets as well as majority stakes in the local operations of Alfamart, Forever21, Crate & Barrel and other specialty and apparel retailers in addition to a minority stake in Uniqlo.

    The combined entity will have 1,927 outlets and 2.4 million sq m of gross floor area across a diverse portfolio of food, household appliances, DIY, furniture, apparel, footwear, pharmaceuticals/cosmetics and specialty retailing stores. The portfolio will serve a wide range of Filipino consumer needs in both staple and discretionary goods categories and will continue to leverage extensive synergies across the SM group.

    SM president Harley Sy said, the move is similar to the consolidation the company undertook in 2013 to create its large-scale, mixed-use property business.

    “The merger adds greater diversity and a more extensive footprint to SM Retail’s portfolio and is consistent with our goal of simplifying our corporate structure,” Sy said. “As a result, SM Retail will be even better positioned to address the growing needs of Filipino consumers and we expect the merger to be accretive to SM Retail earnings in future years.”

    SM’s net income increased 13 per cent in 2015, while consolidated net income stood at P28.4 billion, posting the same level in 2014. Consolidated revenues grew 7 per cent to P295.9 billion for the period.

    “Our strong underlying earnings growth in 2015 was due to favorable domestic market conditions and improved efficiencies which helped us widen our margins particularly in retail and property,” Sy noted.

    SM’s underlying earnings increase was driven by a 17 per cent growth in retail earnings, 14 per cent growth in property recurring net income and 10 per cent growth in bank net income. For 2015, banks accounted for 40 per cent of SM’s consolidated earnings, property 38 per cent and retail 22 per cent.

    SM’s last trading price decreased 2.96 per cent or P25 to close at P820.

     

  • Courts Asia expansion drives huge profit rise

    Courts Asia expansion drives huge profit rise

    Courts Asia’s strategy of spreading its interests into neighbouring countries is paying off already.

    The company has today announced a 253 per cent quarterly increase in profit to S$6 million and a 77.8 per cent rise to S$12.1 million for the first half year. Gross profit for the second quarter rose 12.4 per cent thanks to a focus on higher gross profit margin and higher sales.

    While Courts Asia’s second quarter last year was exceptionally challenging, the high growth from a low base should not cast a shadow over an exceptional retail strategy, especially given the almost stagnant nature of the Singapore retail market this year, Courts Asia’s main market, where sales actually slipped 2.6 per cent.

    Revenue in neighbouring Malaysia, its second biggest market accounting for 35 per cent of total sales, rose 13 per cent in Singaporean currency and 27 per cent in Malaysian Ringgit, mainly due to bulk sales for digital products. That in itself is an achievement as consumer spending in Malaysia tanked after the introduction of GST on April 1.

    “Malaysia has continued to post a good showing with active marketing of our refreshed Courts branding and credit campaign nationwide,” said group CEO Dr Terry O’Connor. “Likewise, we will focus on improving store productivity and cost-saving initiatives as we move forward.”

    In Indonesia, where the company is just getting started, sales rose 5.8 per cent with two new stores opening. A fourth new store is due to be trading by Christmas.

    “In Indonesia, we are progressing well and sales from our three stores, namely the Megastore in Bekasi and two smaller stores in Mega Bekasi Hypermall and Bogor, have kicked-in. Our second Megastore, located in BSD City, Southwest of Jakarta, begins operations by December this year. This new store also represents our fourth store in the country, and we expect economies of scale and operational efficiency coming into the next financial year,” said O’Connor.

    In Singapore, Courts is pinning its growth strategy on introducing new retail formats. The first JYSK Danish lifestyle store opened in Bukit Timah in September and US hardware brand ACE Hardware will follow by year’s end. O’Connor says exclusive partnerships with the two brands align with the company’s strategy of offering a comprehensive suite of solutions for the home.

    “We will be expanding both JYSK and Ace Hardware stores islandwide within the next five years.

    “Beyond cost-saving initiatives, we are focused on optimising the productivity and yield of each of our stores. In Singapore, we continue to rejuvenate our retail concepts to meet changing consumer trends and drive healthier margins.

    “Singapore’s retail environment remains subdued, but we expect a continued stream of demand for household appliances and furniture given the expected increase in supply of HDB flats in 2016. This is in line with recent policy changes such as the higher income ceiling and more Central Provident Fund (CPF) grants that have widened the pool of eligible buyers.”

    In both Malaysia and Indonesia, Courts Asia is targeting the burgeoning middle classes.

    “The recently announced Budget 2016 in Malaysia is slated to boost growth and home ownership with the planned construction of 351,000 housing units. We anticipate that this will drive further demand for affordable furniture and household appliances over the medium term.

    “In Indonesia, we plan to leverage on the country’s growing middle class and its strong standing as one of the region’s fastest growing nations by opening a total of six new stores in Indonesia over the next 12 months,” he concluded.

  • SM Center Sangandaan opens

    SM Center Sangandaan opens

    SM Center Sangandaan has opened its doors – owner SM Prime’s 55th mall in the Philippines.

    It is SM Prime’s first mall in the populous City of Caloocan, one of the 16 cities within Metro Manila. The new mall provides an additional 38,622 sqm in gross floor area (GFA), giving SM Prime a total retail space of 6.8 million sqm, the largest mall footprint in the country.

    SM Center Sangandaan, strategically located along the busy intersection of Samson Rd and A. Mabini St in Sangandaan, will give SM Prime access to the northern tip of Metro Manila, bringing a unique shopping experience closer to the highly dense cities of Malabon, Navotas and Caloocan.

    “SM Center Sangandaan reflects SM Prime’s commitment to be part of the growth across communities. We are very pleased to open our first mall in Caloocan City which is a testament to the fact that Metro Manila is far from being saturated by modern retail facilities,” SM Prime president Hans T. Sy said.

    The mall opens its doors to a catchment of more than 1.5 million with 90 per cent of its space leased. Anchor tenants include SM Supermarket, SM Appliance Center, SM Cinema, Ace Hardware, BDO and Watsons.

    There are three levels of prime space which includes four cinema theaters with a total seating capacity of 824, and 493 parking slots.

    The mall’s facade features different shades of blue, gray and white, giving the exterior a quirky geometric visual design. The main interior features a high glass ceiling, complemented by white walls which maximises daylight and adds further dimension to the mall.

    SM Center Sangandaan is the fifth SM mall to be opened this year, after Cherry SM in Shaw Boulevard with a GFA of 24,165 sqm and SM City Cabanatuan, both of which opened this month. SM Seaside City Cebu is next, scheduled to open on November 27.

    By the end of 2015, SM Prime will have 56 malls in the Philippines and six in China.

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