Puregold acquires 19 branches of Parco Supermarket

Listed wholesale-retail network Puregold Price Club Inc. has added 19 Parco supermarkets to its roster of 106 stores, opened three new branches so far this year, and slated 19 more outlets, aside from six more S&R warehouse clubs.   Puregold paid cash for all the outstanding shares of the Gant Group using internally-generated funds, but it did not explicitly indicate in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange how much it cost to buy the Parco supermarkets from the Gant Group of Companies.   It did indicate, however, that the acquisition price is about eight times the estimated net income of the Parco stores for the year ending June 30, 2012.   Puregold noted that Parco generated consolidated revenues of about P3.6 billion in the last fiscal year.   “For the nine-month period ending March 31, 2012, Parco posted consolidated revenues of about P3.0 billion,” Puregold said in its disclosure.   Puregold expects to retain the Parco brand “to benefit from the brand equity that Parco has established with its loyal customer base comprising ‘C’ and ‘D’ customers and resellers in the areas where they have been operating for the last 29 years.   Parco has 12 stores in Metro Manila, 3 in Bulacan and 4 in Rizal.   Puregold said it will open three new Puregold stores in June after christening three since last January.   “All of the sites for the remaining 19 stores are already signed and contracted and in various stages of construction,” the listed firm added.   It was only last May 8, when Puregold shareholders approved the 100 percent equity interest acquisition of Kareila Management Corp.—now the former owners of the S&R warehouse membership clubs. — ELR, GMA News