Sy says SM stays hungry for growth

MANILA, Philippines — Bigger plans are in store for the Sy family’s retail and mall business as the SM Group eyes to pursue aggressive expansion amid its insatiable hunger for growth.

Despite its current size, SM still feels small compared to retail giants abroad.

“This one is something that has been my guidance of why we are still very aggressive or very positive to continue growth. You know comparing ourselves internationally we’re actually very, very small,” SM Prime executive committee chairman Hans Sy said.

SM Retail, which posted sales of P196.9 billion in the first half, expanded by 355 stores during the first six months to bring its total retail network to 4,208 stores.

“Talking about retail business, you would say SM is very big. True.  I looked into the figure, we did about $7 billion sales. That seems to be very big. But you know, compared to Walmart, Walmart is already about $800 billion. We are just not even one percent or we’re just a little bit almost one percent,” Sy said.

“Now it doesn’t mean putting us down that we’re small. It comes to me as there are so many more opportunities really out there,” he said.

Sy said SM would aggressively grow its retail business in the Philippines as the group continues to see a lot of opportunities.

Instead of seeing new retail players as a threat, he said the group welcomes competition as it creates a bigger market which allows people to have more opportunities to buy.

“In fact, it has enhanced the whole retail business that it created the market bigger. And to put it, a nice way to describe what has happened or what we’re seeing with all this competition coming up, the pipe became bigger for everybody to share,” Sy said.

“You noticed some other big retailers are starting to come in and I don’t believe they’re eating up the market. They’re creating the market and making it bigger. Like IKEA, we thought it would have affected our own brand, Our Home. But to let you know Our Home is also having its own set of growth leaps and bounds,” he said.

He said the influx of foreign retailers also show the attractive opportunities they see in the Philippine market.

“IKEA would not want to build the world’s biggest (store) if they didn’t see the opportunity. So here in the Philippines as far as retail, there are still a lot of opportunities. But we just have to be more creative. We have to have a better understanding of our market. What they want and what they need,” Sy said.

“So what does it take to really grow the market? Even talking about the Philippines, I know the buying capacity’s small or much less than other country. But the population is just so big. So just being able to give them the stuff they need, understanding what they need, understanding what will enhance them to enjoy then we’ll do it. When they come to our mall, we take care of the rest. It’s the natural process.”

SM’s retail operations are the country’s largest and most diversified, consisting of grocery stores, department stores and specialty retail stores.

Its property arm, SM Prime Holdings Inc., is the largest integrated property developer in the country with interests in malls, residences, offices, hotels and convention centers as well as tourism-related property developments.