Allhome ends 2023 with lower sales, looks to leverage on affiliates for 2024

Philippine home improvement retailing chain Allhome extended its losing streak in 2023, after it ended the year with another fall in sales. In its annual report, Allhome - which is part of the group of companies owned by top Filipino billionaire Manuel B. Villar, Jr. - reported full year sales of 12.065 bn Philippines pesos (EUR 195.507 mio.) for 2023, down four per cent. This is the second consecutive year that the company has reported lower sales.

This was blamed on the weakening demand for consumer durables, such as furniture, tools and electronics.  “While the soft categories remained stable, the softening demand for the hard categories was significant,” the company stated.

Same store sales for the period dropped 4.7 per cent. And while the company opened 12 branches during the year to bring its total store network in the Philippines to 72, the maiden outlets also failed to boost the company’s top line.

The decrease in sales, however, was relatively contained compared to the double-digit downward spiral in 2022, when the company’s top line dropped 12 per cent. Last year’s comparative sales also receded less, compared to the 13-per cent wane in the previous year.

In a statement, Allhome President and Chief Executive Officer Benjamarie Therese Serrano expressed optimism that the company will continue to recover. “The long-term fundamentals of the home retail sector in the Philippines remain sound,” she said.

Allhome, in its annual report, also stated that it plans to latch on to “synergies” within the Villar group to boost its performance. Among others, the Villar group operates residential property developer Vista Land, one of the top home builders in the Philippines. It also operates malls and convenience stores in the country. “The company’s relationship with the Villar Group, including [Vista Land] … allows them to locate and launch new stores in parallel with the development of the residential and commercial projects of the Villar Group,” Allhome stated.

Incorporated in 2013, Allhome sells home improvement products from 1,000 brands and under seven categories: furniture, appliances, linens, homewares, hardware, sanitary wares and tiles, and construction materials. It has three store formats: the mall-based store, which has a net selling space ranging from 7,000 to 8,000 m²; free-standing stores with an average net selling space of 7,000 m²; and specialty stores with a net selling space of 250 to 400 m². As of 2023, it had a net selling space of 296,933 m²…