MANILA – ABS-CBN Corp., the country’s largest media and entertainment company, will open an “experience store” next year to better connect with audiences as it continues to grow its consumer business, company president Carlo Katigbak said Wednesday.

The company’s cable, broadband, mobile, studio tours, theme park and home shopping businesses generate annual revenues of P17 billion, surpassing expectations, and is expected to surpass advertising revenues in the next five years, Katigbak told a retailers conference.

The consumer business accounts for 45 percent of total revenue while advertising comprises the remaining 55 percent, he said.

The “experience store,” Katigbak said, will allow the audience to reenact scenes from their favorite shows and movies and interact with the network’s stars.

“We need to deliver unique customer experiences,” he said.

Subscription-based services like Sky Cable, The Filipino Channel, Sky Broadband and ABS-CBN Mobile are the largest contributors to the company’s consumer business, he said.

The “experience” bloc, which includes Kidzania, studio tours and mall shows come second, followed by direct selling, which includes merchandise, TV Plus digital television boxes and the O Shopping Network.

O Shopping is a “nearly one billion-peso” business, Katigbak said, adding 70 percent of transactions are surprisingly paid through cash-on-delivery, not by credit cards with a low cancellation rate.