Philippines’ Wilcon ends 2021 with 21 per cent rise in sales

Wilcon Depot, the Philippines’ largest homegrown home improvement retailer, increased sales by 21 per cent in 2021 coming off a low base that was characterised by pandemic-induced movement restrictions and store closures.

In its annual report, Wilcon said that net sales for 2021 totalled PHP 27.513 bn (Philippine pesos, EUR 482.3 mio). A 12 per cent growth in same-store earnings supported the rise, it said, adding that this contributed 91.9 per cent of last year’s net earnings.

This was “driven largely by the improved sales performance of stores in Luzon which remained operational despite the prolonged surge of Covid-19 cases,” Wilcon disclosed. “At the outset of the pandemic in March 2020, Luzon, where 76 per cent of Wilcon’s branches were located then, was placed under lockdown, requiring all branches in the region to be closed for two months.”

Wilcon’s depot format accounted for 97.4 per cent of the sales, while its smaller store format, Wilcon Home Essentials, contributed the rest.

The company spent PHP 2.26 bn (EUR 39.4 mio) in capital expenditures last year, mainly on the construction of nine depots and one Home Essentials outlet. As of the end of 2021, Wilcon had 73 outlets around the Philippines.