Wilcon sees uptick in sales in new stores

Wilcon Depot, the Philippines’ top home improvement retail chain, reported a 7.6 per cent rise in sales in the first half of the year, thanks to the contribution of new stores. The company disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange net sales of 17.152 bn Philippine pesos (PHP, EUR 284.10 mio) for the six-month period ending June 2023, even as it revealed that sales in stores older than one year were stagnant, although this was attributed to Wilcon having come off a high base in the same period last year.

By format, Wilcon’s depots contributed the bulk of the sales at 97 per cent, while the smaller Home Essentials contributed two per cent.

For the second quarter, Wilcon posted sales of PHP 8.624 bn, up 4 per cent. Comparable store sales for the period fell by 3.4 per cent, while comparable transactions fell by 7.4 per cent, indicating a lower footfall in mature stores. Comparable ticket size, however, rose by a slight 4.4 per cent for the quarter.

“We had slower growth mainly due to the decline in foot traffic in our old stores. We have a high base, since there was pent-up demand for the same period last year as we just came out of the Omicron surge,” Wilcon president and CEO Lorraine Belo-Cincochan explained in a press statement.

She added that a slowdown in private construction in April, which had consecutive long weekends, contributed to the lacklustre sales of established outlets.

Belo-Cincochan said that Wilcon remains on track with its store expansion plan, with four new stores opened since the start of the year. Two underperforming outlets were shut down, however, keeping Wilcon’s store network at 85 as of the first half.

The company earlier disclosed plans to open 13 stores this year as part of its target to be present in 100 locations by 2025.

“We still have seven ongoing construction projects, not including several that are in the planning or permitting stage, which are set to be opened next year,” Belo-Cincochan stated.