Watsons Personal Care Stores (Philippines) Inc., a joint venture of SM Prime Holdings and A.S. Watson Group, is eyeing to open more stores in the provinces within the year.

Maria Victoria Encarnacion, marketing director of Watsons Philippines, said in an interview that the company aims to strengthen its presence in the provinces, particularly in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Encarnacion reported that Watsons is planning to open 40 new stores this year, of which 75 percent will be located outside Metro Manila.

‘We only have a few stores in the Visayas and Mindanao, which is why this year our thrust is to open in provincial areas where Watsons does not have any presence yet,’ Encarnacion said.

Encarnacion noted that Watsons is eyeing double-digit growth in sales this year, to be pushed by sales in the new stores that will open.

Manila is paving the way for them to expand in the provinces.

‘Manila is congested and there are a very few malls opening in the area. We work in a mall environment. We don’t open stores by ourselves. We look for mall opportunities so if a new mall opens, we open a Watson,’ she said.

Encarnacion noted that Watsons will not open exclusively on SM locations but would expand where there are opportunities.

‘We do have a lot of stores in Robinsons, Gaisano, and Ayala malls. Now that we’re all in SM malls and we see opportunities in other malls as well, we open there,’ she added.

Watsons has 275 stores in 30 cities nationwide.

Encarnacion said 75 of these stores are located within Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

Last year, Watsons opened 45 stores nationwide.

According to Encarnacion, there is limited space for new mall developments in Metro Manila.