MANILA, Philippines — Makro’s return to the Philippines is no longer just a comeback plan on paper. The wholesale retail brand has now secured four strategic Ayala Land locations, setting the stage for a rollout that could become a much bigger play for both retail and real estate.
Ayala Land Inc. announced that it has signed lease agreements with Makro Philippines covering four of its mixed-use estates: Cloverleaf in Quezon City, Arca South in Taguig, Broadfield in Biñan, Laguna, and Evo City in Kawit, Cavite.
The agreements give Makro access to some of Ayala Land’s most important urban and suburban growth corridors, spanning Metro Manila and the rapidly expanding areas south of the capital.
But this is not simply a story about four new stores.
It is also a glimpse into how Ayala is increasingly using retail anchors to strengthen its estates—and how Makro’s return could help turn these developments into larger commercial destinations.
Makro Gets Four Strategic Locations
Under the lease arrangements, Ayala Land will retain ownership of the properties in Cloverleaf, Broadfield and Evo City, while Makro will be responsible for developing and operating the stores.
The setup at Arca South will be different. Instead of operating as a separate large-format development, Makro will be located within Ayala Malls Arca South, according to Ayala Land.
That combination gives Makro access to very different consumer markets.
Cloverleaf places the brand near a densely populated section of northern Metro Manila, while Arca South gives it a foothold in Taguig and near major transport corridors.
Broadfield offers exposure to the fast-developing Laguna market, while Evo City positions Makro near Cavite’s expanding residential and commercial communities.
Ayala Land Regional Estates Head Christopher Maglanoc said the agreements highlight the role of the developer’s estates as places where residential communities, businesses and commerce can converge.
Makro’s Comeback Has Been Years in the Making
For older Filipino shoppers, Makro is hardly a new name.
The warehouse-style retailer first entered the Philippine market in the 1990s under a partnership involving the Ayala Group, SM Group and Dutch company SHV Holdings.
Ayala eventually sold its 28% stake in the business in 2004. SM later increased its ownership and gradually folded the Makro operations into its broader retail network, with former Makro locations eventually converted into formats such as SM Hypermarket and Savemore.
More than two decades later, Ayala is now involved in bringing the brand back.
In September 2025, Ayala Corporation’s wholly owned retail arm ACX Holdings Corp. entered into a joint venture with Thailand-based Makro ROH Company Limited, a subsidiary of CP AXTRA Public Company Limited.
The resulting venture was structured with Makro ROH holding 50.1% and ACX Holdings owning 49.9%.
The business is intended to operate large-format food retail and wholesale stores serving both ordinary consumers and business customers.
CP AXTRA described the Philippine venture as part of its wider ASEAN growth strategy.
When Will Makro Actually Open?
This is where the rollout becomes particularly interesting.
When the partnership was announced in September 2025, Ayala executives said the first Philippine Makro store was targeted to open in 2027, with the first location expected beside Ayala Malls Cloverleaf.
By April 2026, however, ACX Holdings was signaling a potentially faster schedule.
ACX Senior Vice-President Rohit Kohli told BusinessWorld that the company was targeting its first opening between the fourth quarter of 2026 and the first quarter of 2027, with Cloverleaf and Arca South identified as the first two locations.
The group was also targeting as many as four stores during its first year of operations.
The four newly signed Ayala Land leases now provide a clearer picture of where that initial expansion could happen.
No definitive opening date for each of the four locations was announced in Ayala Land’s August 21 statement, meaning construction and launch schedules may still vary by site.
This Is Bigger Than a Supermarket Comeback
The return of Makro also fits into a much broader shift inside Ayala.
Ayala Corporation has been building a more aggressive consumer and retail portfolio through ACX Holdings, partnering with international operators rather than relying solely on businesses developed internally.
Makro is one part of that strategy.
Ayala has also entered a partnership with UAE supermarket operator Spinneys to introduce the premium grocery chain to the Philippines.
Meanwhile, Ayala and CP AXTRA expanded their relationship in November 2025 to explore additional investments and businesses in both the Philippines and Thailand, including opportunities in wholesale, retail and e-commerce.
That relationship has since moved in both directions.
In May 2026, Ayala’s retail and mall businesses agreed to work with CP AXTRA on improving Makro mall assets in Thailand.
AyalaLand Malls and ACX Holdings are sharing expertise in leasing, mall operations and property development, initially covering seven Makro locations there.
In other words, CP AXTRA is bringing its wholesale expertise into Ayala’s Philippine ecosystem, while Ayala is exporting some of its mall-development expertise into CP AXTRA’s home market.
Why Ayala Land Has Plenty to Gain
The four Makro stores could also support one of Ayala Land’s most important strategic priorities: generating more recurring income from its estates.
Ayala Land has said leasing will become an increasingly important driver of growth, with all of the company’s planned new leasing footprint over the next three years expected to be located inside its estates.
The developer is pursuing this strategy as it becomes more selective about residential launches and focuses heavily on malls, offices, hotels and other recurring-income assets.
Ayala Land plans to add more than 200,000 square meters of mall gross leasable area in 2026, its largest annual retail-space expansion to date, along with around 70,000 square meters of new office space.
Makro therefore does more than pay rent.
A large wholesale retailer can attract customers, food businesses, restaurants, small retailers and other commercial activity into an estate.
That traffic can potentially benefit nearby malls, residential developments, offices and future commercial lots.
For an estate developer, that ecosystem effect can be just as valuable as the store itself.
Cloverleaf Could Offer the First Test
Among the four locations, Cloverleaf may be particularly important.
Ayala Land has previously identified Makro as an upcoming commercial anchor for the estate, with property materials indicating the brand is expected to return there around 2027.
The site sits near major roads including EDSA, A. Bonifacio Avenue, NLEX and Skyway connections, giving a large-format retailer access not only to nearby residents but also to customers moving between Metro Manila and provinces north of the capital.
If the format performs well there, it could provide a template for the other locations.
The Competitive Question
Makro is also returning to a Philippine grocery market that looks very different from the one it left.
Large supermarket and warehouse-style formats are already deeply established, while online grocery platforms, membership retailers, hypermarkets and neighborhood formats are competing for consumer spending.
Makro’s challenge will therefore be to offer something distinctive enough to persuade customers—and particularly small businesses—to change buying habits.
CP AXTRA says the revived Philippine Makro business will offer both food and non-food products at accessible prices for consumers and small business operators.
Its regional experience could be significant.
CP AXTRA operates the Makro and Lotus’s businesses and said in May that its network exceeds 2,700 stores across its retail platforms, giving the company substantial experience in wholesale, grocery and omnichannel retail.
Still, regional scale does not automatically guarantee success in the Philippines.
Location, pricing, assortment and the ability to attract small businesses will ultimately determine whether Makro’s second Philippine chapter succeeds.
A Familiar Brand Returning With a Very Different Strategy
Makro’s comeback may initially look like nostalgia: a well-known warehouse retailer returning after disappearing from the local market.
But the business behind it is significantly different this time.
Ayala now provides access to its sprawling real-estate ecosystem.
CP AXTRA contributes regional wholesale and retail expertise.
And the four initial Ayala Land estates provide ready-made communities where housing, offices, malls and commercial activity are already being built around the stores.
That may be why Makro’s return could matter beyond grocery shelves.
The real experiment is whether a warehouse retailer can become an anchor that helps Ayala create even more valuable communities around it.
And if Cloverleaf, Arca South, Broadfield and Evo City succeed, four stores may only be the beginning.
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