Makro Philippines Manila

Consumers eagerly anticipating the return of Makro in the Philippines will have to wait a little longer before they can once again shop at the grocery chain. The first Makro store in the country under the new operators is targeted to open by 2027. The first store would be located in Quezon City beside Ayala Malls Cloverleaf. Makro promises to offer a modern shopping experience with a wide range of food and non food products at accessible prices for both consumers and small business operators.

Makro’s revival in the Philippines is being made possible by Ayala in partnership with CP AXTRA Public Co Ltd of Thailand. Ayala announced the execution of definitive agreements with CP AXTRA Asia’s leading operator of wholesale and retail businesses Makro and Lotus’s for the operation of Makro stores in the country. ACX Holdings Corp a wholly owned subsidiary of Ayala and Makro ROH Co Ltd a subsidiary of CP Axtra have committed equity interest of 49.9 percent and 50.1 percent respectively in an investee entity called M Co Corp to operate the business venture.

Pilipinas Makro which previously operated the Makro stores in the Philippines was originally a partnership between the Sy family’s SM group SHV Holdings N V of the Netherlands and the Ayala Group through its property arm Ayala Land Inc. In 2004 however Ayala Land sold to its joint venture partners its 28 percent stake. In late 2007 SM Investments folded the Makro stores into its operations after it increased its ownership of Pilipinas Makro to 60 percent. The company then converted its Makro stores into SM branded hypermarkets.

Dutch wholesale retailer Makro is set to re-enter the Philippine market more than a decade after its exit through a new partnership between Thailand’s CP Axtra and Ayala Corporation. The partners have formed a new entity, M Co. Corp., which will operate Makro stores nationwide. The format will focus on offering a wide range of food and non-food products for both consumers and small business operators. Makro first entered the Philippines in 1996 via a joint venture between SHV Holdings, Ayala, and SM Investments. Ayala later sold its 28 per cent stake to the SM Group, which rebranded the Makro outlets into its own hypermarket and supermarket formats in 2009. Since then, SHV has divested its Asian Makro operations through CP Axtra, a subsidiary of Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group. The Philippines represents one of the most dynamic and fast-growing markets in Southeast Asia. Through this partnership, our expertise in wholesale and retail management is combined with Ayala Corp.’s strong market presence, established customer base, and extensive land and mall development expertise.