“In terms of aspiration, in a nutshell, what we want to do is bring the best of the world to the Philippines, but just as important, to help Filipinos to showcase he best of what the Philippines has to offer to the rest of the world.”
MANILA, Philippines — Conglomerate Ayala Corp. is making a push to bolster its retail business over the next decade, with plans to bring in the best international concepts to the Philippines.
Ayala head of corporate strategy and business development Mark Robert Uy told The STAR that the group is talking to several brands in search for the right concepts to introduce to the country.
“But again, we’re directing them to other partners first. If they can find other local partners, why not? Again, we’re just happy to be purely landlords. It’s really when people feel that we have something unique to add, that’s when we will participate,” Uy said.
To further enhance its retail portfolio, Uy said that Ayala is open to other concepts, including food.
“I think this goes back to providing better choices. We’re just looking at all concepts. Nothing specific, but where can we add value. What pain points can we solve?” he said.
Uy, however, said that Ayala’s retail expansion would be done patiently and one at a time.
“I think when you look at the overall retail portfolio of the group, we want it to be a chunkier portion of the portfolio 10 years from now. It won’t be immediate,” Uy said.
“In terms of aspiration, in a nutshell, what we want to do is bring the best of the world to the Philippines, but just as important, to help Filipinos to showcase the best of what the Philippines has to offer to the rest of the world,” Uy said.
The group marked its first retail foray under parent Ayala Corp. through Anko, an Australian home and lifestyle brand.
Through a partnership with Ayala, Anko entered the country with the opening of its first store in Glorietta 2, Makati in November last year.
Ayala is bullish on growing Anko’s presence in the Philippines, with plans of doubling Anko’s network in the country to 10 to 12 stores by next year from five branches by the end of the year.
Uy said that Ayala, led by the Zobel family, has decided to go on its retail journey on the back of a simple premise, which is that “Filipinos deserve better.”
“You have to hand it to the Zobels. They really genuinely care about the country. They really genuinely care about the Filipinos,” he said.
Uy believes that the retail segment is a big market and that there can never be enough competition in the space.
According to Uy, more competition is also good for the customers, as more players means more choices for consumers.
“I also thought we were late in the game, right? But the fact that we found this brand that nobody is bringing into the market has to tell you something, This space is always dynamic. You always have to keep on improving your products,” Uy said.
“If it’s true that the market is already crowded, how come Filipinos do their shopping abroad?” he said.
China Bank Capital Corp. managing director Juan Paolo Colet said that retail concepts indeed have a lot of room for growth in an expanding consumption-driven economy like the Philippines.
“So there is reason for Ayala to compete in this space. It’s also synergistic with their mall business,” Colet said.
“Ayala is trying to differentiate its retail foray by bringing brands and formats that provide consumers with attractive products, compelling value and a unique shopping experience,” he said.
However, Colet said that it remains to be seen whether they could scale the retail segment to become a meaningful contributor to group revenues.
Meanwhile, an analyst who requested for anonymity believes that retail is “already a crowded space” and venturing into it is “just another distraction for Ayala.”
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