Alfamart Philippines opens 1000th store in Barangay Santiago, General Trias, Cavite

Employees and managers of Alfamart Philippines opened their 1000th store in Barangay Santiago, General Trias, Cavite in a simple celebration. Amid the modest festivities, however, every person is feeling satisfaction that they can express only with joyful eyes, as their respective masks hide their smile.

The scene above essentially mirrors the journey of Alfamart, the first and only Super Minimart chain in the Philippines, in achieving their 1000-store milestone amid a global pandemic. It was a journey of many successes that are humbly accepted as challenges to continue working and to always do better.

Alfamart Philippines COO Harvey Ong recalled when they opened the first ever Alfamart in the neighboring city of Trece Martires, Cavite back in 2014. “It’s almost as if we’ve gone full circle,” he remarked. “We are thankful for the customers who support us and the communities we served. We were only able to achieve these milestones because of them,” he continued.

The employees themselves expressed their happiness and satisfaction, not just with reaching the 1000-store milestone, but also with how Alfamart has treated them in general. “The milestone represents the dedication [of Alfamart] to provide service to communities, especially during the pandemic,” said Zeus Cuenca, an Alfamart Shift Leader at the Mambog 1, Bacoor, Cavite branch. “The fact that we are providing a necessary service to 1000 communities makes us really see the impact and value of our work,” he expounded.

Jessica Maniago, a newly hired Logistics Assistant at Alfamart’s Mexico, Pampanga distribution center, expressed admiration about Alfamart’s hiring during the pandemic. “Many companies had to let go of people [during the pandemic]. But, in the case of Alfamart, instead of retrenching, we hired, so we could give opportunities to those who need them,” she said.

Alfamart also values its partnerships with small businesses. They consign and carry many brands like Bakeshop16 and DECS. These brands have built a loyal customer base in their respective cities, but through partnering with Alfamart, they were able to reach new markets by having access to their 1000 stores. Alfamart also subleases their extra space to SMEs like Express Clean, a self-service laundry shop, which was able to expand to seven branches through their partnership with the Super Minimart.

Ong further explained how keeping themselves rooted to their advocacy of developing communities and growing with them is important as they move forward. “The 1000 store milestone is not by any means a ‘finish line’, he said. “It is the start of bigger opportunities to grow with everyone we encounter—our employees, our business partners, our communities, and everyone else who relies on Alfamart,” he concluded.

For more information on Alfamart Philippines, please visit https://www.alfamart.com.ph/. 

Alfamart continues Super Minimart openings to serve more communities

Amid the Luzon-wide Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), Alfamart, the first and only Super Minimart chain in the Philippines, has resumed its expansion to cater to the needs of local communities.

What was once a simple and mundane task has been made more challenging and risky by the ECQ. Grocery shopping is now much more complicated than it used to be, as people now have to contend with curfews, checkpoints, social distancing, and quarantine passes to help stem the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

To help address these concerns and alleviate the burden on individual households, neighborhood minimarts like Alfamart have become more popular destinations for these errands, as they are closer to home.

In the recent week, Alfamart opened eight new stores across Luzon; namely, in Tabun, Angeles, Pampanga; Barangay 176, Bagong Silang, Caloocan; Poblacion, Floridablanca, Pampanga; Palico, Imus, Cavite; Silangan, Rosario, Cavite; Daan Sarile, Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija; Saog, Marilao, Bulacan; and Grand Valley Subdivision, Angono, Rizal.

Ten more stores are opening in other locations in May.

Alfamart Philippines COO Harvey Ong pointed out that the expansion amid the ECQ is more about following through on Alfamart’s advocacy to improve communities. “The ECQ has been very challenging for everyone, especially those living in communities that are significantly farther from malls, supermarkets, and groceries,” Ong said. “We want to bring that safe, convenient, and comfortable shopping experience closer to home through our Super Minimarts,” he continued.

Ong also highlighted how Alfamart is doing everything it can to reduce health risks, and inconveniences, for both employees and customers. “Our stores follow strict sanitary and hygiene protocols. We also provide PPEs for our frontline and backend staff,” he said. “Also, as part of our walk-to-work philosophy, we hire our store crew locally. As much as possible, we prefer our employees to be within walking distance of their assigned stores. This helps manage their travel time,” he further explained.

Ong enumerated other measures that ensure the store staff are taken care of such as free shuttle rides, proper coordination with checkpoints for expedited supply chain deliveries, proper scheduling and shorter operating hours.

“In these trying times, everyone is called to be vigilant and serve. Alfamart will do its part to help the community by keeping as many of our existing stores open and reaching out to more communities so we can serve more people,” he concluded.