Biggest stand-alone MerryMart store opening in July

MANILA, Philippines — Tycoon Edgar “Injap” Sia II’s MerryMart targets to open its largest stand-alone full-sized supermarket in July.

Sitting on a 4,032-square-meter prime land located in Ayala Land’s Cresendo Estate in Tarlac, the new stand-alone full-sized supermarket will carry the full line of grocery, pharmacy, personal care and other basic essential products.

It will be an eco-friendly supermarket with roof solar panels, LED lighting fixtures, power efficient equipment, bicycle slots and electric car charging provisions.

The company said the stand-alone full-sized supermarket design of MerryMart Grocery would be the format for locations in sprawling horizontal communities.

“We are making strategic decisions that prioritizes long-term sustainability above all, laying the groundwork for the future success and growth of MerryMart to delight the customers today as well the next decades,” Sia said.

Despite posting higher revenues, MerryMart saw net income drop by 28.9 percent to P408.2 million in 2023 from P574 million in 2022.

The decrease is attributed to the lower gross profit and higher expenses during the year given the temporary scale up stage of the wholesale business with higher per transaction value, but tighter margins and additional expenses in the distribution centers, logistics network and systems upgrade.

Revenue, however, rose by 18 percent year-on-year to P6.30 billion, driven by the additional stores and the continuous growth of the existing stores.

MerryMart said its wholesale ecommerce business has significantly grown with tighter margins, but with higher transaction value.

MerryMart also continues to invest in parts of its business as the company expects to significantly grow its market share with improvements in distribution centers, logistics and systems upgrade.

“We are glad that MerryMart has delivered revenue growth from its current business lines continuously gaining market share and investing in the foundation of any business is like laying down sturdy roots for a mighty tree,” Sia said.

With a strong foundation in place, Sia said MerryMart would be better equipped to weather challenges and scale operations efficiently in the future.

MerryMart has a goal of 1,200 branches nationwide by 2030, generating P120 billion in systemwide recurring consumer sales revenue.

MerryMart Group’s various formats are MerryMart Express, MerryMart Market, MerryMart Grocery and MerryMart Wholesale.