Upson International Corporation recently shared a summary of its President’s Report at the company’s 2026 Annual Stockholders’ Meeting, revealing how the company performed in 2025 by focusing on quality over quantity in its retail stores.

Fewer Stores, Better Performance

Instead of just opening as many stores as possible, Upson decided to focus on making each store work better. Here’s what happened in 2025:

• The company opened 14 new stores
• But it also closed 19 stores that weren’t performing well
• This left them with 240 total stores by the end of 2025, which is 5 fewer stores than they had in 2024

Think of it like cleaning out your toy box – sometimes having fewer, better toys is more fun than having many toys you don’t really use.

Making More Money from Each Store

Even with fewer stores, Upson actually did better business in 2025. According to the report:

• Total sales went up by 6.3%
• Their gross profit margin (the money they keep after paying for products) improved from 20.97% to 21.48%
• The total floor space of all stores combined grew by 2.1%
• Each store sold 8.5% more on average compared to before
• Sales per square meter (how much they sold in each space) increased by 4.1%
• Stores that were open in both years saw sales grow by 6.1%

This means each store became more productive and efficient at selling products and making money.

Preparing for Future Challenges

Toward the end of 2025, Upson bought more inventory (products to sell) than usual. They did this because they were worried about two things:

• There might be problems getting products in the future
• The prices they pay for products might go up soon

It’s like when you stock up on your favorite snacks before a long vacation – you want to make sure you have enough before they become hard to find or more expensive.

Investment Takes Time to Pay Off

The company explained that when they open new stores, it takes time before those stores start making good money. There are costs to open a store, and it takes a while for customers to discover it and start shopping there regularly. Based on their experience, Upson’s management expects these newer stores to become more profitable soon, which should help the company perform even better in the near future.

This article is based on the company’s official press release and disclosures filed with the Philippine Stock Exchange’s Electronic Disclosure Generation Technology (PSE EDGE) system. For the complete and official version of the announcement, readers may visit the PSE EDGE website and search for the company’s filing directly.