MerryMart shares rise after tie-up with FoodPanda on ‘dark grocery’

A PLAN between MerryMart Consumer Corp. and FoodPanda Philippines to launch a purely online grocery service in the country has driven the former’s stock activity last week.

A total of 276.7 million MerryMart shares worth P864.84 million were traded from Sept. 21 to 25, data from the Philippine Stock Exchange showed.

MerryMart finished at P3.05 apiece last Friday, up 0.3% from its Sept. 18 close. Shares in the company went up by 103.3% from its closing price of P1.50 on June 15, when it first debuted in the bourse.

Philstocks Financial, Inc. Client Engagement Officer and Research Associate Piper Chaucer

E. Tan attributed the deal between MerryMart and FoodPanda as the “main driver” for the stock’s movement last week.

“Notice when the news came out [on the deal], the activity of the stock went up,” Mr. Tan said in a phone interview, adding that this is a strategic move for both parties, especially for MerryMart given that its business is still small.

“MerryMart’s share price went up since people saw the company is adapting to the new normal,” Mr. Tan said, noting that having FoodPanda as a partner will benefit MerryMart’s logistics.

In an e-mail, Regina Capital Development Corp. Equity Analyst Anna Corenne M. Agravio noted that while investors bought up the stock on the same day the news came out, it was followed by quick profit-taking with share prices starting to consolidate after reaching an intra-day high of P3.34 last Thursday.

In a statement last Wednesday, MerryMart, through its subsidiary MerryMart Grocery Center, Inc. is teaming up with FoodPanda for “PandaMart,” the latter’s instant grocery delivery service in the country. The first two branches are set to open in the cities of Makati and Manila next month. —