From its origins as a small shoe store, SM’s retail business has become the most diverse in the country today, following the significant merger of its specialty stores under SM Retail in 2016.
The merger has allowed the retail business to fully align with the direction of SM’s other core businesses in banking and property. All three core businesses are able to pursue and increase the momentum of expansion across the country and provide a business mix that will better serve communities where these businesses operate.
In February 2016, the SM board approved the merger of SM Retail with several leading local specialty retail stores, which received final approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission in July 2016.
SM Retail now comprises market leading brands across food retailing, department stores and specialty retailing. Specialty retailing now includes a wide assortment of quality products offered through the stores such as Ace Hardware, SM Appliances, Homeworld, Our Home, Toy Kingdom, Watsons, Kultura, Baby Company, Sports Central, Pet Express and others.
In 2016, SM Retail posted revenues of P276.5 billion, up eight percent, while net income grew 7 percent to P10.6 billion from P9.9 billion in the previous year. The strong results reflected the impact of the merger where the performance of retail affiliates were largely fueled by discretionary spending on homes, and do-it-yourself activities which track the strong consumption and overall economic growth of the Philippines.
Beyond diversity, the merger also expanded SM Retail’s nationwide footprint to 2,110 outlets at the end of 2016. This comprises 1,556 specialty retail outlets, 57 department stores (The SM Stores), 48 SM Supermarkets, 44 SM Hypermarkets and 156 Savemore stores(collectively SM Markets), as well as 39 WalterMart and 210 Alfamart stores.
