MANILA, Philippines - Susan P. Co, the vice chairman of the board of Puregold Price Club Inc.

, has a
simple yet forceful message to those who would want to start a business: You have to make everybody
who supports you grow also.

Co said one of the many ways Puregold attempts to ensure that many of the sari-sari store owners who
patronize them thrive in their business, is the companys philosophy of taking care of their customers.

In an interview, Co said: We, at Puregold, are not selfish. We share and transfer the business know-how
that we have learned through the years of running Puregold to our customers who are willing to
understand the intricacies of sari-sari store business.

We want our loyal customers, especially the sari-sari store owners, to grow and develop their
businesses, too. It is good business for us. It creates more opportunities for us and our growing sari-sari
store owners, Co said.

We have our own brand of corporate social responsibility. We do this without much fanfare. We do this
by quietly sharing our business insights to those who are interested. We want them to understand how
they can start their own small business, Co said during an interview in a Puregold branch in Quezon
City.

Puregolds Tindahan ni Aling Puring Gold members are given the Gold Welfare Insurance, a free
insurance that covers life, accident and calamities. Puregolds Gold members do not have to do anything
to receive this insurance. We do the paper work for them and we pay everything for them, Co said.

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In a separate interview, Antonio E. de los Santos, Puregold national operations manager, said about 35
percent to 50 percent of their customers are sari-sari store owners.

Sari-sari store owners are very important and significant clients of Puregold. They are central to our
business. We want their numbers to grow, De los Santos said.

De los Santos said Puregold has made crucial inroads among food resellers such as owners of
carinderia, catering, canteens and even small lodging inns.

We have noticed that on the average, they order products worth three thousand pesos per day. We
deliver to them the products they really need for free, De los Santos said.

As of May 2013, Puregold has 180 branches in Luzon and is set to open in Visayas and Mindanao
regions. Its store network has attracted over 230,000 members sari-sari store owners, carinderia
operators and bulk buyers to join Tindahan ni Aling Puring program, a customized service Puregold
rolled out 10 years ago to help start-ups and customers boost their profitability.

In its first quarter of 2013 disclosure, Puregolds consolidated net profit increased by 105.3 percent to
P962 million from a year ago.

Puregolds first quarter profit was attained as its consolidated net sales grew by 49.8 percent to P16.09
billion. Puregolds net profit margin also improved to six percent from 4.4 percent posted in 2012.

The 49.8-percent growth in consolidated net sales for the quarter was mainly due to the 18.2-percent rise
in sales turnover of the 159 Puregold and Parco stores operating as of end-March. The six S&R
warehouse clubs and the 15 company E-stores accounted for 16.4 percent and one percent, respectively,
of the consolidated net sales.
LUCIO L. Co-owned Puregold Price Club, Inc. and Gaisano-led Metro Retail Stores
Group, Inc. rode strong consumer demand to higher earnings in the three months
ending March, according to separate disclosures to the stock exchange on Friday.
Puregold, the countrys second largest grocery operator, increased its net profit by nearly a tenth to
P1.15 billion in the first quarter from the P1.05 billion registered a year ago.

Consolidated net sales went up 19.7% year-on-year to P24.76 million in the January-March period due
to robust consumer spending in its existing Puregold, S&R RELATED STORIES
Membership Shopping, and S&R New York Style Pizza stores, as
well as newly opened stores.

Our first quarter same-store sales growth of 7.3% for Puregold Puregold merges three retail
stores and 4.8% for S&R stores were driven by strong consumer units
demand, Puregold President Ferdinand Vincent P. Co was quoted
in the statement as saying. Lucio Cos Puregold earns P1.1B
in April-June
At end-2015, the Puregold group was operating 298 stores
nationwide: 255 Puregold stores, 10 S&R stores, 16 S&R New York Puregold to expand footprint
Style Pizza stores, and 17 stores under the NE Bodega and outside Luzon
Budgetlane Supermarket brands.
Higher same-store sales,
Meanwhile, Visayan retail giant Metro Retail pocketed P52.8 million consumer spending lift Puregold
in the first three months of 2016, up 69.2% from P31.2 million in profit to P5B
the same period in 2015.
Puregold aims to open 75 Lawson
Stripping off interest income from both periods, net income stores this year
growth slowed to 8.3 % during the period.

Metro Retail generated a 9.7% increase in all-store sales, anchored on the 7.4% expansion in same-
store sales.

Metro Retail recently opened a hypermarket in Calbayog City in Eastern Visayas, as well as two
department stores in UP Town Center and Fairview Terraces in Quezon City, bringing its store network
to 49: 24 supermarkets, 13 hypermarkets, and 12 department stores.

Shares in Puregold were unchanged at P42.10 apiece, while shares in Metro Retail added six centavos
or 1.5% each on Friday. -- Krista Angela M. Montealegre

MANILA, Philippines Local retailing giant Puregold Price Club Inc. posted a 6.6-
percent decline in first-semester net profit to P1.66 billion due to some non-recurring
items that boosted earnings in 2013.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

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The decline was attributed to the absence of the interest income recognized in the
comparative period that had come from the short-term investments. Specifically, these
comprised of interest earnings from the P5 billion raised by Puregold from a corporate
notes issuance but these notes were pre-terminated and paid in full in April 2013 due
to changes in applicable taxation rules.
On a recurring basis, Puregold told the Philippine Stock Exchange on Thursday that
its net income after tax would have increased by 0.9 percent year-on-year in the first
semester.
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For the six-month period, consolidated net sales grew by 16.8 percent year-on-year to
P38.55 billion. This was attributed to the continuing expansion and sales turnover of
228 Puregold and S&R membership shopping stores operating as of the end of June.
For the full year, Puregold has maintained its guidance of 20 percent growth in
consolidated net sales.
Puregold posted a gross profit margin of 16.5 percent in the first semester from 17.5
percent in the same period last year. The sagging in the gross margin was due to the
lower sales volume generated from non-food items, which became expensive to the
mass market due to the effect of the sin tax law, the company said.
This referred to the increase in excise taxes on sin products such as cigarettes and
alcohol.
In terms of net profit margin, Puregold recorded a 4.3-percent net profit margin
compared to the 5 percent net margin in the same period in 2013.
As of the end of June, Puregold opened 15 new Puregold stores. Its target for the full
year is to open a total of 25 new stores. Another S&R store is likewise planned to be
opened towards yearend.