7-Eleven operator allots P3B for 2015 expansion

CONVENIENCE store operator Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC), the local licensee of 7-Eleven stores in the country, is spending P3 billion to fund its expansion program this year amid a more competitive landscape.

PSC, the biggest convenience store operator in the country, ended 2014 with a total of 1,282 stores, representing a net increase of 273 stores or 27 percent compared with the end-2013 count of 1,009 stores, the company told the Philippine Stock Exchange.

PSC opened 286 new stores and closed down 13 stores last year.

Jose Victor Paterno, PSC president, said that long-term growth prospects were favorable, adding that the organization could sustain its momentum to meet earnings and store expansion goals.

“PSC has taken steps to protect and expand its leadership in light of increased competition, recognizing that rewards for market share are especially strong in the convenience store sector,” he said.

For this year, the P3-billion capital expenditure budget marks an increase of more than 50 percent from the previous year’s outlay.

It was earlier reported that PSC aims to sustain a 25-percent annual growth in store network without spinning out of control, thereby doubling its retailing footprint every three years.

The company intends to open more stores in Western Visayas, backed by a 3,765-square meter regional distribution center.

PSC aims to protect its market share of about 60 percent for chained convenience stores.

Another key player in the local convenience store segment is Ministop, operated by Gokongwei-led Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. Another foreign franchise, FamilyMart, led by the Ayala and Rustan’s group, has also entered the local market with the goal to hit 500 stores through 2018.

Puregold Price Club Inc. is also getting into this convenience business in a big way, envisioning to set up a 500-store network in partnership with Japanese chain Lawson by 2020. The country’s biggest retailer SM group has also brought in Alfamart, the Indonesia’s largest chain of convenience stores, to the local market.