Toby’s Sports to put up 5 new stores next year

MANILA, Philippines — Sporting goods retailer Toby’s Sports plans to open four to five new company-owned stores next year as it continues to pursue its expansion plans post pandemic.

“Next year, we have several company-owned openings,” said Toby Claudio, president of Quorum International Inc., the parent company of Toby’s Sports.

“I just signed the lease for the new SM Caloocan (branch). We are looking to do about four to five more company-owned (stores),”he told The STAR in a Zoom interview.

Apart from Caloocan, the company is also looking at opening new stores in Bataan, Naga and Clark, according to Claudio.

Plans also include opening more RUNNR and urbanAthletics stores.

“We’re looking at RUNNR in Cagayan de Oro and Alabang. And then for urbanathletics, we’re also looking to expand both in Metro Manila and provincial areas,” he said.

RUNNR is a running specialty store while urbanAthletics is a cutting-edge street lifestyle store.

Aside from company-owned stores, Claudio expressed optimism for having more franchise stores.

We’re always open to good franchise partners because there are so many opportunities, especially in provincial areas. With significant development and economic growth in the provinces, and numerous malls opening, we’re consistently on the lookout for highly motivated franchise partners who love sports and are eager to be hands-on owners. We seek individuals closely connected with the sports community in their area. This is an opportunity for us to expand rapidly into those regions,” Claudio said.

“But we’re also opening company owned stores in the provinces, especially in the bigger cities,” he added.

Currently, the company has 63 Toby’s Sports stores in the country.

This year, it added a Flagship Toby’s Sports Store in SM North The Block to bring its total of flagship stores to three, with the other two strategically located in Bonifacio Global City and SM Mall of Asia.

Its most recent openings include in SM Tuguegerao, SM San Pedro and its Toby’s Outlet Store right next to its headquarters in Pasig City.

Claudio attributed the driving force behind its expansion to the heightened awareness of health.

During the pandemic, sports gear was one of the most sought-after purchases, not just locally but globally as well. Even in the US, fitness equipment was extremely popular. Simply put, because gyms were closed and sports were not allowed, people began buying gear to work out at home. We have a very strong Home Fitness line,” Claudio said.

“Now, after the pandemic, people have resumed traveling and engaging in team sports. All the leagues have resumed. So the demand for sportswear has really gone back to pre pandemic levels,” he added.