Minimart chain Alfamart, a member of the SM Group, is aiming to open at least another 200 stores in Luzon this year as it continues to expand its footprint despite the ongoing pandemic.

Alfamart Chief Operating Officer Harvey T. Ong said that, in the last two years, Alfamart opened over 400 stores, including its first stores in Zambales and Bataan.

Because of this expansion, Alfamart was able to create close to 3,000 jobs in the last two years. Today, the minimart chain has 1,225 stores Luzon-wide.

In all of these locations, Ong said Alfamart embodies the same purpose that it aims to create in the communities it serves.

“Beyond customer service, we create customer relationships. We build our brand with a notion of closeness and being in character with the communities that welcome us,” he noted.

Ong said that, among the many lessons they learned during the pandemic has been how communities support one another in times of crisis and the importance of the minimart chain’s role in helping underserved localities with purpose as it expands and grows.

“The purpose of Alfamart is a simple one. We try to uplift the lives of residents in underserved communities. The last two years have made us realize and appreciate how important our growth actually is to the people we serve,” he Ong said.

As it expands, the store chain operator creates employment as well as business opportunities for its partners and for micro-, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

“Faced with the pandemic, it had a choice to either close stores that were proving hard to operate or to find ways to support them and protect the jobs they provided. Without hesitation, Alfamart chose the latter in full understanding of how people would be affected,” said Ong.

He explained that this meant remaining open even when people were afraid to leave their homes and travel at a time when new variants of the virus were emerging.

“If we had chosen to close down for financial reasons, that would not have been fair to the community. To shut down these stores would mean abandoning the people who rely on us. When I look back, I think we did the right thing,” Ong said.

Not only did this save jobs and livelihoods, but this also created income opportunities for landlords and contractors that build the stores, he pointed out.

When thinking about the different shopping choices available to local customers, Ong underscored that Alfamart’s focus is not on its competition but rather the needs of its communities.

“This to us is sustainable growth –to make sure it’s not just us who will benefit from our expansion but the whole community as well,” he said.