Wilcon to open up to 10 stores this year

MANILA, Philippines — Wilcon Depot Inc. the listed home improvement and finishing construction supplies retailer, is looking to open eight to 10 stores for 2023, according to its  president Lorraine Belo-Cincochan.

During the company’s annual stockholders meeting yesterday, Belo-Cincochan said the company continued to focus on its growth strategies, opening 10 stores for the second year in a row.

At the same time, Belo-Cincochan said the company may exceed this target even as they expect growth to be muted this year compared to 2022 due to high base effects or the outstanding performance of the company last year.

Aside from the base effects, she said that with the reopening of the economy, consumers’ focus has shifted from home to travel and other outside-the-home leisure activities especially in the second quarter of the year.

 Belo-Cincochan said the company is looking beyond short-term fluctuations and continues to focus on expanding its store network and enhancing its product offerings, adapting its store formats, and merchandising to different markets.

Wilcon is still looking to open majority depot-formats at least in the medium-term even if more smaller formats than usual will be opened in the coming years.

In line with this, Wilcon moved to amend the company’s articles of incorporation to include “Do It Wilcon’ and “Bargain Center by Wilcon Depot” in its trade name, a move ratified by its stockholders.

During the meeting, Wilcon founder and chairman emeritus William Belo said the company has been able to adapt well despite the pandemic.

“Indeed, our 45-year experience in this business taught us the importance of adaptability. We stayed ahead of the curve even if the pandemic was arguably the worst crisis we ever faced as a business. Our long and varied experience, which we did not put to waste, was the foundation of our success. Through all the disruptions, political upheavals, economic downturns and changes In consumer trends and behavior we have consistently delivered quality products and excellent customer experience to our customers.” Belo said.

Last year, Wilcon reported a net income of P3.8 billion last year, up 50.2 percent.  In the fourth quarter alone, the company generated P888 million in net income, 28.3 percent higher than the same period a year ago.

The 10 stores that the company opened last year are are all located in Luzon. This brought the total number of its branches to 83 by the end of 2022.