SM Investments Corp. (SMIC), the holding firm of the Sy family, on Wednesday said it will vaccinate its employees for free within the year as part of its efforts to boost consumer confidence.
SMIC President and CEO Frederic C. DyBuncio said its facilities will remain as vaccination venues nationwide for use by local governments in reaching as many citizens as possible.
Vaccination sites are in SM malls in Pulilan, Olongapo, Marilao, Cabanatuan, Cauayan, Tuguegarao, Masinag, San Mateo, Parañaque, Muntinlupa, Antipolo, North EDSA, Taguig, Trece Martires, Rosario, Calamba, San Pablo, Lemery, Lipa, Cebu, Iloilo, Bacolod, Ormoc, Butuan and General Santos with more to be added soon.
“These will help to build the confidence that our consumer-led economy urgently needs. The key is to continue to innovate and operate safely, which we have done and continue to do. We continue to respond and adapt to changing customer needs and touch points to serve our customers better,” DyBuncio said.
He said online shopping may remain permanent in people’s behavior, but this will just be a “minor” part of their overall shopping.
“That’s why we accelerated investments in this area from telephone-based shopping, social media platforms and campaigns, different means of delivery and pick up. We see people going back to the malls and shops but these are in community centers,” he said during the company’s annual stockholders’ meeting. “In the foreseeable future, in-person and in-store based shopping experiences will still be preferred by our customers. But we continue to work hard to develop innovative online and offline delivery channels that are integrated into our business while enhancing customer service,” he said.
The SM Group said it has continued to support its partners especially the thousands of small and medium-sized companies in its supply chain. As a group, it provided over P30 billion in overall support in the form of waivers, payments and donations, it said.
SM also provided loan extensions on top of group-wide donations and on-the-ground relief efforts for host communities during the pandemic.
“Our collective resilience is necessary to safeguard our long-term growth and to ensure we can continue to promote responsible development nationwide,” DyBuncio said.
Last year, its grocery chain launched smmarkets.ph to provide more convenient options for pick-up or delivery for customers’ essential needs, while Waltermart grew its online grocery format and adopted the strategy of Call/Text and Pickup.
The malls introduced its newest shopping platform, SM Malls Online, available in three of its biggest malls.
SM’s two logistics companies in the group, 2GO and Airspeed, also played important roles in fulfilling the requirements of these online platforms, the company said.