Total Philippines aims to grow store network to 1,000 in 5 years

By Victor V. Saulon, Sub-editor
TOTAL Philippines Corp. targets to double the number of its service stations in the country from the current 500 as the company expands its reach outside the main Luzon island.
“This year we opened 50 new service stations,” Laurent Stouffe, president and managing director of the local unit of French group Total S.A., in a gathering in Makati City on Tuesday.
He said the company currently has 500 stations all over the Philippines, and that the strategy of the company is to double the size of the network to 1,000 in five years.
“It could be faster,” he said.
Mr. Stouffe said the target is achievable since Total Philippines had only about 200 stations two years ago, but was able to increase its could in a short span of time.
He did not disclose the capital expenditure for the planned expansion, saying that the cost would depend on the size of the service station, the business model, and the lease arrangement for the area where the station will be located.
“We know that the price of the rent in Manila or Quezon City is different from the north and the south of the country,” he said.
He said at present, Total Philippines has about five stations in Mindanao, with 20 more in the pipeline.
The company’s aggressive expansion is a departure from its low-key presence in the Philippines, where it also has exposure in exploration projects, and just recently, solar energy rooftop installation.
Last month, a unit of Total S.A. said it had secured contracts to install solar energy systems on the rooftop of four Gaisano malls in Luzon and the Visayas with a total capacity of 1.66 megawatts (MW).
The subsidiary Total Solar SEA said it had locked in contracts with Gaisano Capital, the entity behind the malls, for its first project in the Philippines.
Total Solar said the installation can generate around 2,257.3 MW-hour in a year. The malls in Binangonan, Calapan, Masbate and San Carlos will have an installed capacity of 536 kilowatts peak (kWp), 268 kWp, 375.2 kWp, and 482.4 kWp, respectively.
The project is expected to help Gaisano Capital cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 1.25 million tons and reduce its expenses.