With over 40 years of extensive experience in the home improvement and construction supply industry, Wilcon Depot is determined to remain as the market leader in its category.
“When you talk of home improvement, we are continuously leveling up in terms of what we offer, the experience and the path to purchase of our customers,” said Wilcon SEVP-COO Rosemarie B. Ong. “We are really appealing to lifestyle.”
“It is like adhering to what is the trend in the market. We follow what’s the trend in fashion. Home improvement is also fashion; it is home interior fashion,” Ong continued.
For Wilcon Depot, it is a commitment to continuously improve, try to introduce new innovations and trends in the market, and improve better service for customers.
Aggressive growth strategy
There is no stopping the company from pursuing an aggressive growth strategy this year. The retail chain is set to open seven additional depots by the end of 2017.
One of those would be in Silang, Cavite; another one will be in Cabanatuan City; one in Talisay City, Negros Occidental (officially opened on June 30); and two in Iloilo. The company will also build two new locations in Mindanao (Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga City), which it believes could still be a strong growth area despite the ‘isolated security cases’ in the region.
Those new sites would be added to the current 38 stores that Wilcon Depot is operating nationwide. This growth initiative complements the firm’s commitment to be ahead and be aggressive in terms of introducing new designs and innovations in the market.
Possibility of going online
“Because we all know that people are busy with so many things, we want it to be easy for them to purchase, to make a purchase decision,” Ong said. “At the same time, we want to be able to introduce new ideas that we can offer to the market.”
Wilcon Depot previously hinted on plans to create its own e-commerce platform that would complement sales of its growing store network and would provide greater convenience to more customers. However, the company clarified that a possible online operations might carry only several of its basic products because it understands that most customers still prefer to personally do ocular inspection when buying specific construction and design materials (like tiles).
In an interview during Wilcon Depot’s initial public offering in April, Wilcon Depot Founder William T. Belo said tools, appliances, furniture and other similar items could go online. He also disclosed that his group has already embarked on initial discussions with a number of possible online service providers.
Wilcon Depot’s top executives during the company’s first annual shareholders’ meeting in June. In photo (from left): SEVP-COO Rosemarie Ong; Director, President, and CEO Lorraine Belo-Cincochan; Founder William Belo; Board Chairman Bertram Lim; and Director, Treasurer, and CFO Mark Andrew Belo
Other endeavors
The home improvement and construction supply retailer is committed to supporting local industries to help pump up the economy and back creation of more jobs for more Filipinos. However, Ong admitted that many of the products the chain carries are sourced abroad. “There are only a few manufacturers in the Philippines but as much as possible, we like to source our products locally,” she explained.
And lastly for its advocacy, Wilcon Depot is supporting Filipino interior designers through housing the Philippine Institute for Interior Designers (PIID) in a designated area at its Makati City location. In terms of corporate social responsibility efforts, the company has Wilcon Foundation that provides scholarship to financially challenged college students. It has also provided donations to other civic organizations like the GMA Kapuso Foundation and the Red Cross Foundation.