Ayala seals deal to launch UAE's Spinneys Premium Food Stores in Philippines
Zobel-led Ayala Corp. is ramping up the expansion of its consumer business, this time sealing a business venture to bring Spinneys, a premium fresh food supermarket chain in the United Arab Emirates, to the Philippines.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the country’s oldest conglomerate stated that Spinneys is owned by the Al Seer Group, a consumer holding company that is part of a UAE-based group.
The Al Seer Group has business interests in industries such as food, retail, hospitality, shipyards, and construction, with presence in over 20 countries.
This venture follows Ayala’s recent announcement of its partnership with Thailand’s CP AXTRA to open Makro stores in the Philippines.
These, together with Ayala's earlier collaborations with Kmart Australia Ltd. to bring home and lifestyle brand Anko and with BYD to bring the world's leading EV brand to the Philippines, underscore Ayala's continued commitment to partnering with world-class companies to help build businesses that enable people to thrive across its portfolio.
The partnership with Spinneys will see Ayala combine its deep local market knowledge and strong experience across the property, retail, and logistics sectors with Spinneys' operational and brand expertise in premium fresh food retail.
Ayala Corporation President and CEO Cezar P. Consing said, "We are honored to be the first partner of Spinneys as it ventures outside the GCC. We hope this investment will catalyze trade and investment between the Philippines and the GCC.
“At Ayala, we take pride in partnering with some of the world's leading companies and working alongside them to bring world-class products and services to the Philippines."
"The Philippines offers significant long-term growth potential, with strong economic fundamentals, a growing affluent population, and increasing demand for high-quality offerings," said Spinneys Chief Executive Officer Sunil Kumar.
He noted that, “Our partnership with Ayala combines their deep local knowledge with our operational expertise, providing a strong foundation to grow.
“As we enter this next phase, we're delighted to be bringing our high-quality and fresh offering to a new region that is natural for us to serve, as we are proud to employ and cater to many Filipinos in our current market.”