PIZZA PARLOR CHAIN SETS P500-M CAPEX FOR 2018

Leading pizza parlor chain Shakey’s Pizza Asia Ventures Inc. (Spavi) has earmarked about P500 million to roll out new restaurants, spruce up old stores and upgrade its central production hub.

Spavi plans to continue its expansion program after a “banner” year in 2017 by opening 20 new local stores this year, which will bring its network to 228 stores by the end of the year, Spavi disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Company chair Christopher Po said the capital expenditure budget this year would cover “new stores, renovations, IT (information technology) and equipment for the central kitchen.”

Spavi opened 24 new stores last year, more than its earlier target of 20.

“It has been a banner year for Shakey’s—our maiden year as a publicly listed company—as this is the fastest we’ve grown in terms of store network,” Spavi president Vicente Gregorio said in a statement.

“We will continue to take advantage of the positive consumer sentiment in the Philippines and hope to open even more stores, including those outside the typical first-tier cities,” he added.

In 2017, Spavi opened a number of stores in provincial locations, including Iligan, Puerto Princesa, Antique, Gapan and Palo, Leyte.

The company also started redesigning the interiors for its newer branches.

“AsFilipinos nowlook for more premium dining experiences, we are driven by our mission to consistently ‘wow’ them by upgrading our look, launching innovative products and emphasizing a high quality of service,” said Gregorio.

The recently-passed tax reform package is also seen to benefit consumers as well as retailers like Spavi.

April Lee-Tan, head of research at online stock brokerage COL Financial, said among the winners from the tax reform were “consumer companies targeting discretionary spending as higher disposable income should lead to higher spending.”

Spavi earlier stated a plan to grow its network to 500 local and overseas restaurants in the next five years, to be funded with internally generated cash and proceeds from its public offering.