SM Supermalls sees strong holiday sales

SM SUPERMALLS expressed optimism about the upcoming holiday season, citing nearly double-digit growth in sales and revenue so far this year.

“We’re very positive about the prospects. And, you know, I’m sure all the retailers are excited for this holiday [season]. It will be a very nice Christmas for everyone,” SM Supermalls President Steven Tan told reporters on the sidelines of the 2024 Outstanding Filipino Retailers Awards Night on Wednesday.

“So far, until now, we are almost double-digit growth [in terms of] sales and revenue,” he added.

In a disclosure to the stock exchange in August, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. said that its total mall revenues reached P37.5 billion in the first six months. This is 8.4% higher than the P34.6 billion in the same period last year.

SM Supermalls is the mall unit of SM Prime. It has 86 shopping malls in the Philippines and eight shopping malls in China.

“From January up until now, there was no single month that really went down. August was a little bit soft, but it is because of the transition of the school year,” he said.

In terms of foot traffic, he said that SM Supermalls has already been able to match the 2019 foot traffic level on the tail end of 2022.

“The whole year of 2023 was already much stronger than our 2019 numbers. And 2024, so far, for the first nine months has already been stronger than 2023,” he said.

However, he said that the growth in foot traffic is already normalizing to around 6-7%, as 2023 numbers were very strong.

Asked about plans to bring more brands to their malls, he said that there are a lot of brands entering the Philippine market.

“I believe that the global retailers still look at the Philippines as a very important market for them because of the very young population that the Philippines has,” he said.

“There’s an Italian chocolatier Venchi opening and French Ladurée is reentering… So there’s a lot of brands that are entering,” he added.

Meanwhile, SM Prime Executive Committee Chairman Hans T. Sy said that the group sees global issues as challenges affecting all retailers.

“It is really more of a global issue because that is also going to affect our overseas Filipino workers… but we are quite positive that Filipinos will somehow find one way or another how to celebrate,” Mr. Sy said on the sidelines of the event.

He added that SM will continue expanding, especially outside Metro Manila, to hit its 100^th store by 2027.

“A lot of people do not know the real secret about the Philippines. We have so many islands, so we are making it convenient by going to them rather than letting them come over,” he said.

However, he said that expansion overseas will be done slowly, noting that it is a very challenging market.

“Overseas, well, we are still slowly doing it. Like in China… It’s very, very challenging. While China is really still something that we can look forward to, it’s very challenging and very competitive. It’s a different ballgame there,” he added.

In particular, he said that what is challenging in expanding in China is how advanced the technology is in the country, as it is making the retail arena more competitive.

SMALL BUSINESSES
In a separate news release on Thursday, the SM group said it is working to help expand market access for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through its supermarket chain SM Markets.

SM is currently engaging more than 100,000 MSMEs across the group, while SM Markets has formed partnerships and provided support to over 900 MSMEs nationwide, the SM group said in a statement on Thursday.

“We host weekly bazaars where MSMEs can present their products without the burden of space rental fees,” SM Supermarket President Jojo R. Tagbo said.

“Instead, they contribute a percentage of their earnings to SM, providing them with an affordable avenue to connect with more customers,” he added.

He added that SM Markets is committed to sourcing from regional suppliers to support local economies.

“As we expand into provincial areas, we prioritize finding local suppliers to enhance efficiency and support regional growth,” Mr. Tagbo said.

“This approach ensures we can offer a diverse range of products and improve the overall shopping experience for our customers,” he added. — Justine Irish D. Tabile and Revin Mikhael D. Ochave