Fisherfoods to open 3 supermarkets every year

MANILA, Philippines - Fisherfoods Corp. plans to open three supermarkets every year beginning next year to add to its newly opened outlet in Quezon City (QC).

“Ideally, I would like to have three per year, three expansion branches per year for the supermarkets,” Fisherfoods president Roberto Alfonso Del Rosario told reporters at the resent launch of Fisher Mall.

Fisherfoods is the operator of Fisher Mall’s supermarket.

Del Rosario said the firm is looking at Metro Manila for its planned expansion.

This, as Fisherfoods intends to use the supermarkets to sell fish products from related company Irma Deep-sea Fishing Inc.

Irma Deep-sea is headed by Del Rosario’s father.

The next location the firm has set its sight on is in Malabon.

Del Rosario said the plan is to have a supermarket and a mall similar but smaller than the Fisher Mall covering 114,000 square meters which opened in QC Tuesday.

He also said the firm intends to open a new mall every two years.

Fisherfoods is looking to expand its presence in the supermarket and mall business to take advantage of the growing consumption spending in the country.

“I think the reason why there are so many malls in Metro Manila is because the market can sustain it. If it wasn’t a profitable business then people would not be seeking to partake in it,” Del Rosario said.

Asked if the firm has plans of listing on the Philippine Stock Exchange, he said it is something to be considered in the future when it would require more funds to open more outlets.

“If we have a good business model, good policies in place, good procedures and the only thing missing is capital, that will be a good time for us to list,” he said.

The fishing company of businessman Bobby del Rosario may have to slightly increase its production capacity were the opening of Fisher Mall.