SM Retail to sustain expansion in 2026 despite ‘political noise’
The retail arm of the Sy family’s SM Investments Corp. remains unfazed by political headwinds as it maps out its next chapter of expansion.
SM Retail Inc. president Jonathan Ng said the group was already gearing up for the launch of new malls, as well as boosting the footprint of the minimart chain Alfamart.
For this year alone, the firm has rolled out at least 200 new Alfamart stores, according to the official. In 2026, SM Retail is planning to open 200 to 250 new stores.
Last October, the firm launched its franchising program for Alfamart, targeting micro, small and medium enterprises.
As of end-September, Alfamart stores had reached 2,337 across the country.
Ng could not provide details on the funding when asked.
“There’s still a lot of political noise, but we always have a view of the long-term. We continue to open [new stores],” he told reporters last week.
“We’ll continue to focus on our strength. We always take a look at what the trending items are. We usually try to bring them into our stores. And we continue to expand,” the executive said.
‘Solid momentum’
Ng also expects the company to end 2025 with solid momentum, with the Christmas rush fueling its fourth-quarter performance.
“We remain hopeful because it’s Christmastime. Filipino consumers usually, with the Christmas bonus coming in, they really spend time with their families and they go to malls and retail stores. We always remain hopeful when it comes to the Christmas season,” he said.
He noted that the last quarter of the year was usually the “strongest quarter” of the group.
Ng’s optimism mirrored that of Tessie Sy-Coson’s confidence. The vice chair of SM Investments earlier said that the group would still hit its targets next year even as the country faces a string of issues, especially the corruption mess.
The country’s largest conglomerate, with its empire stretching from retail, real estate and banking, weathered the challenging economic and political environment as its profit in the January to September period rose by 6 percent to P64.4 billion.
