Wilcon hopes to have 100 stores ahead of 2025 target

Home improvement and construction supplies retailer Wilcon Depot Inc. said it expects to achieve its goal of having 100 stores a year ahead of the end-2025 target amid rapid business expansion, according to a report by Manila Standard.

“It is looking like we are going to hit the target a year ahead, or several quarters ahead of end-2025 goal,” said Wilcon investor relations head Mary Jean Alger in a recent interview.

Wilcon ended 2022 with 83 stores.

“If we open 8 to 10 stores this year and in 2024 then, we could easily hit the 100 stores, barring unforeseen events,” Alger said.

Alger said the company already secured the sites for the company to achieve 100 stores.

She said there was a strong demand for new stores particularly in areas outside Metro Manila.

Bulk of Wilcon’s new stores are located outside Metro Manila and are mostly depots with average gross floor area of 9,000 square meters.

Wilcon has 18 branches in Metro Manila and 64 stores in key cities and municipalities outside the metropolis.

The company operates its business via two retail formats%u2015the depot store format and the home essentials store format.

Each store offers a wide array of products which include local and international brands of tiles and flooring, plumbing and sanitary wares, electrical and lighting products, hardware and tools, furniture, furnishings and houseware, paints, appliances and building materials.

The share price of Wilcon recently hit a 52-week high of P34.45, on the back of the continued strong performance of the company despite the impact of the pandemic.

Wilcon registered a net income of P1.1 billion in the third quarter, up 77.5 percent from P482 million a year ago, as net sales jumped 32.6 percent year-on-year to P8.78 billion.

The strong third-quarter performance push Wilcon’s nine-month income to P2.96 billion, up 58.3 percent from the same period a year ago.

Nine-month net sales rose 23.3 percent to P24.7 billion as the group added six depots and one home essentials in 2022.

The share price of Wilcon fell 1.6 percent Tuesday to close at P33.55.