Wilcon investing P3.9 billion in 2022

Home improvement firm Wilcon Depot Inc. is boosting its capital expenditure budget to P3.9 billion this year from the P2.16 billion spend in 2021 to support its continued store expansion program, according to a report by Manila Bulletin.

In an interview after the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting, Wilcon President Lorraine Belo-Cincochan said they are targeting to have 81 stores open by the end of 2022 and 100 stores by 2025.

“We are well on our way to reach our 100-store by 2025 target. We opened an unprecedented 10 stores in 2021, nine depots and one smaller format, Home Essentials. We have completely deployed our IPO funds in the first quarter of 2021 but have kept the company debt-free,” she said.

Wilcon continues to be optimistic of its prospects for the year as the economy reopens amid looser quarantine restrictions, resulting in improving sales for all of its stores.

Wilcon Chief Operating officer Rose Bosch-Ong said all indicators point to a better year for the company as the construction sector reactivate after a sluggish pandemic phase.

“Many of the constructions that has been disrupted over the past few years are now continuing. So we’re seeing even institutional accounts coming back to life because people are going back to the city now, especially the workers,” said Ong.

She added that, “we’ve seen how the economy recovered more so with home improvement that has been very resilient during the past years.” “Hopefully it will continue and there’ll be no more disruptions in the coming months so that we will end the year on a high note,” Ong said.

Meanwhile, Belo-Cincochan said the company is launching its small format concept, which it will place in high traffic areas in the coming weeks, to address the needs of residential communities.

“We’ve been experimenting (with the market). We just have not announced it yet. And so far, we’re very confident that among competition we have the widest category, and also the footprint. I guess our footprint is, you know, strong enough also to cover the bigger markets,” Belo-Cincochan said.