Sun Group allots P300 million for Philippines expansion

MANILA, Philippines — The company behind Xtreme Appliances is planning to spend P300 million to expand its presence in the country by opening a total of 60 stores up to next year.

“We will open 20 Xtreme Appliances concept stores this year,” Sun Group of Companies president and chief executive officer Richard Lim said in an email.

By next year, he said the company plans to open another 30 to 40 stores.

Each store will cost P5 million and locations will be chosen depending on the demand from its dealer partners.

At present, Lim said there are 3,000 Xtreme Appliances stores and business partners from Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

The expansion plan is being pursued amid increased demand for home appliances during the   pandemic.

“Most Filipinos are staying at home, that’s why they buy and upgrade their appliances,” Lim said.

He said sales volumes have doubled a few months after the lockdown with Smart TVs and LED TVs, air conditioning units, gas range and small appliances like multi-cookers, microwaves, blenders and electric kettles as its top performing products.

The firm expects to sustain this sales performance until the end of the year as the pandemic continues and forces people to spend more time at home.

The bulk of the sales of Xtreme Appliances come from physical stores, while 10 percent is generated from online.

Xtreme Appliances is new in the e-commerce space having launched its online store on its website www.xtreme.com.ph and on platforms Lazada and Shopee  just in May.

Lim said opening online stores has always been part of the plan for Xtreme Appliances, but this was accelerated due to the pandemic.

Apart from expanding through store openings, he said the group is also increasing its workforce count.

“Currently, we’re expanding and hiring employees for all departments, from warehouse, operations, marketing, and sales,” he said.

Xtreme Appliances which is under Suntouch Technology Corp., started in 2016 and focused on the audio and video product category.

It has expanded to major appliances to serve as the one-stop shop for reliable, quality and affordable products.

Xtreme Appliances’ products are manufactured in China and the brand has a research and development team to ensure its standard and quality.

Aside from home appliances, Sun Group of Companies is engaged in real estate, leasing, construction and hotels.