Puregold targets 25 new stores nationwide in 2022
By Revin Mikhael D. Ochave, Reporter
PUREGOLD Price Club, Inc. is aiming to establish 25 stores across the country in 2022 as part of its expansion plans nationwide.
Puregold Vice-President for Operations Antonio E. De Los Santos said in a press conference for its Tindahan ni Aling Puring Negosyo Convention on Thursday that majority of the company’s store expansion target this year will be Price Club stores.
Currently, Puregold has 437 stores across the country, he said.
“We are eyeing 25 stores for this year. Of the 25, about seven stores are already open. We are allotting about P50-million worth of capital expenditure per store,” he added.
According to Mr. De Los Santos, the company was able to open 30 stores in 2020 and another 30 stores in 2021.
He said that the openings for 2020 and 2021 were augmented by Puregold Mini Marts, which have fewer checkout counters and are smaller compared to the main stores.
“Our target this year is 25. It just so happened that in 2020 and 2021, we opened mini marts also. These added to our overall target in 2020 and 2021,” Mr. De Los Santos said.
According to Mr. De Los Santos, the company is eyeing areas that do not have the company’s footprint such as areas in the National Capital Region (NCR), Visayas, and Mindanao.
“We will continue to expand and we will continue to protect our organic stores. There are still a lot of areas in the country that are underserved. Puregold is not yet there, which means that there are many opportunities,” Mr. De Los Santos said.
“When the opportunity presents itself and it meets our criteria and validation and we can establish Puregold there, we will go to that area,” he added.
Meanwhile, Puregold also introduced its Aling Puring mobile application, which is a platform that allows every Aling Puring member store to become a one-stop shop.
The Aling Puring app allows members to have e-commerce opportunities such as mobile load, bills payment, and cash-in for mobile wallets. The app is connected to the Puregold mobile application for easy ordering and replenishment of stocks and exclusive deals.
“Puregold is equipping Tindahan ni Aling Puring members with an app that will allow them take advantage of e-negosyo opportunities. Sari-sari store owners can now become the community’s hub for basic essentials, and paying bills or telco load,” Puregold President Ferdinand Vincent P. Co said.
Tindahan ni Aling Puring is Puregold’s membership program that allows sari-sari stores (neighborhood stalls) and other business owners to enjoy free deliver, business financing assistance, and free insurance. The program currently has about 660,000 members.
(Note: The story has been modified to reflect a request from Puregold to change the capital expenditure figure, which was previously given at P500 million)
