Puregold to focus on original store format

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The country’s second largest supermarket chain, Puregold Price Club Incorporated, will focus on its original format and adopt e-commerce to streamline its operations in 2016.

Puregold President Vincent Co told reporters over the weekend that in terms of branding, Puregold will no longer distinguish the stores as Junior and Extra stores, two smaller store formats used to delineate between store sizes.

Based on research, he said, the smaller stores elicited negative connotations of carrying a fewer assortment of products.

He pointed out though that Puregold will retain the superstore or warehouse formats.

Co said the size of Puregold stores will now depend on the market size, the demographics in the area and the population, adjusting the assortment each store will carry depending on whether the area has more end-users or sari-sari or variety stores.

The firm will also turn to innovation next year by incorporating e-commerce to create a more seamless ordering and delivery system for its sari-sari store clients.

Co said the company is now pilot-testing e-commerce through a mobile app where sari-sari store customers can seamlessly order products through paperless system.

At present, Puregold takes orders by phone, email or text with transactions processed manually.

Puregold has allotted P1 billion ($2.108 million) in 2016 to open 25 more stores nationwide with a primary focus in Visayas and Mindanao, where Co said the company is underrepresented. The firm has 6 stores each in Visayas and Mindanao.

Puregold currently has 257 stores. In addition, it has 9 NE and 8 BudgetLane stores, two supermarket chains the firm acquired this year. In February, Puregold bought the 9-store supermarket chain of NE Incorporated, a Nueva Ecija-based retailer.  

Co also said the chain still has to penetrate other areas in Metro Manila and Luzon, particularly Northern Luzon.

He added that the company will use Bacolod and Iloilo as a platform to expand in the Visayas but added that Cebu “is not a priority because it is too saturated.” – Rappler.com

$1 = P47.44