Retail News CRM

Tag: Forever21

  • Global brands should grow in Philippines

    Global brands should grow in Philippines

    With retail rents still affordable compared to other Asia Pacific countries, the Philippines should be attracting more international brands, says a property analyst.

    This would further fuel the growth of the retail property market this year, says Jones Lang LaSalle Philippines (JLL) regional director Sheila Lobien, who is also the company’s head of project leasing markets.

    She says that while rental rates for ground-floor retail in the Philippines are rising because of high market demand, regionally the country is still the cheapest.

    “If you look at the rental rates in Asia Pacific, Manila is the cheapest. Hong Kong is the most expensive, Singapore may be in the middle and even Kuala Lumpur is twice as high as us,” says Lobien. “So the Philippines is still the cheapest, though the rental is already increasing for ground-floor space.”

    Based on JLL figures for 2015, Manila continues to offer the most affordable shopping centers in the region at US$555 a square meter per annum. In contrast, Hong Kong commands the most expensive retail rents at US$15,661 a square meter per annum.

    Rising incomes

    As well as the lower retail rates attracting more international brands, the rising income of Filipinos is also a magnet.

    “Almost all the big brands that are in Singapore, Hong Kong and even the US are now here,” says Lobien. “We see Forever21, H&M and all the other big brands. Even brands as prestigious as Apple are looking at the Philippines now.”

    According to Jones Lang Lasalle’s Global Cross Border Retailer Attractiveness Index 2016, Manila is classified as a growth retail city, ranking 29th on the list of 50 top cities attractive for retail.

    “Strong retail sales growth is driven by an expanding population, rapidly rising middle classes and fast-track urbanisation,” says JLL.

    Lobien says the Filipino consumer market is becoming more sophisticated and is being more exposed to what is happening abroad, as travelling has become less expensive. “We didn’t know those brands before. Nowadays, we are familiar with all the international brands and we’re looking for them in the Philippines.”

    International brands that have entered the Philippines lately include Fatburger, Morganfield’s, Sugar Factory, Tokyo Milk Cheese Factory and Vera Wang, says JLL.

    To enter the Philippine market, foreign brands need a local retail partner, says Lobien, citing SM, which has partnered with Forever21 and H&M. “There are a lot of others like the Bench Group, which has international brands also.”

  • 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.