THE SM group is further beefing up its food retail operations as it announced plans to open six SM Hypermarkets this year.

In an interview, SM Hypermarkets executive vice president Robert Kwee said of the planned openings, three branches will be new and located in SM Fairview, Las Piñas and Quezon Avenue, while the other three are Makro outlets that will be converted into a hypermarket.

He said the three Makro stores that will be converted into a hypermarket are those in Novaliches, Makati and Mandaluyong. At present, there are 15 Makro stores and this number will be reduced to 12 after the conversion of the three outlets.

“We will see if the strategy of converting Makro into a hypermarket will work,” said Kwee, without disclosing investment cost for the expansion.

A hypermarket is a superstore, which combines a supermarket and a department store. The result is a very large retail facility which carries an enormous range of products under one roof, including full lines of groceries and general merchandise. In theory, hypermarkets allow customers to satisfy all their routine weekly shopping needs in one trip.

Established here in 1995, Makro is a high-volume, low-cost, no-frills cash and carry wholesaler that provides products suited to the needs of its professional consumers like hotels, restaurants, caterers, small retailers and service endusers.

The SM Hypermarket chain, on the other hand, was started by the Sy family in response to the growing needs of the market for more convenience. Now with 13 branches, it has been successful in creating the convenience of a first-rate indoor wet market, food and general merchandise store to provide one-stop shopping convenience for shoppers.

Kwee said despite the impact of the financial crisis on consumer spending, the SM group is still upbeat on the continued patronage of consumers.

“We make it a point to offer the best value as we can provide, not only a wide range of choices in terms of price points, but also a practical option through our in-house brand, SM Bonus,” he said.

Apart from expansion the network of SM Hypermarkets, Kwee said the SM Food Retail Group will also open 14 SaveMore branches and two additional SM Supermarkets.

In 2008, the group opened two SM Supermarkets (in SM City Marikina and SM Cubao); two Hypermarkets (in SM City Rosales and SM City Baliwag); and five SaveMore outlets in various areas in Metro Manila.