Metro Retail Stores Group, Inc. (MRSGI) is set to enhance its presence in the Visayas region, focusing on Leyte-Samar and Negros Occidental, through strategic collaborations with local governments. MRSGI’s president and COO, Manuel Alberto, announced plans to introduce modern retail services to areas that have long lacked such facilities. The company’s strategy is to leverage the robust economic growth in regions like Negros Occidental and Eastern Samar, driven by significant GDP growth and thriving sectors such as retail, construction, and tourism.
In Samar’s Catbalogan, MRSGI has entered into a joint venture agreement with the provincial government to improve retail access and foster community and regional development. The initial phase of this project includes constructing a two-story building that will house a supermarket and a compact department store. The subsequent phase will see the expansion into a larger mall to meet the increasing retail demand in Catbalogan. Additionally, the project encompasses a convention center, a government center, a transport terminal, and a hotel.
In Hinigaran, Negros Occidental, MRSGI has partnered with the local government under a Public-Private Partnership to develop a new retail complex on a 6,000-square meter site. This three-level facility will include a supermarket and a lifestyle section, serving the nearly 100,000 residents of Hinigaran who previously had to travel to Bacolod for their shopping needs. The complex will also incorporate the Ceres Bus Terminal.
These initiatives in Samar and Hinigaran are part of MRSGI’s broader strategy to expand in the Visayas, capitalizing on the region’s economic momentum.