7-Eleven PH targets 1,000 stores by end-2013

MANILA, Philippines – The local franchise of 24/7 convenience store chain 7-Eleven is targeting to expand its nationwide reach this 2013 amid strong retail demand.

Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) is eyeing to end the year with 1,000 stores this year from 800 in 2012, noted Jose Pardo, one of the original incorporators of the local chain.

In his speech at the Tindahan ni Aling Puring Sari-Sari Store Convention at the World Trade Center on Wednesday, May 22, Pardo said the Philippine business needs to catch up with its peers.

He cited Thailand, which has 7,000 stores, while Japan has 11,000 and Taiwan, where the store originated, has 5,000.

Pardo noted how the country’s huge population can still accommodate more 7-Elevens which serve business and university hubs and residential communities “when the sarisari stores are closed.”

“We are open 24 hours and we provide that convenience,” Pardo told delegates of the convention, mostly owners of sari-sari stores, which compete with 7-Eleven.

Pardo said rising incomes among Filipinos boosts retail demand.

Read: Politics in a cup: How 7-Eleven Philippines is cashing in on the 2013 elections

The convenience store market in the Philippines is currently served by 7-Eleven, Gokongwei-led Mini-Stop, some Mercury Drug outlets, Villar-owned Finds Convenience Stores Inc. (FCS) and gasoline station-based Shell Select, and Caltex Star Mart. 

Recent addition was FamilyMart, the world’s second largest convenience store chain, that partnered with the Ayala group. 

Convenience stores and their local peers, the sari-sari stores, in the Philippines account for about 70% of the country’s grocery market value sales.

The abundance of traditional grocery retailers is largely due to the number of low income consumers, and their close proximity to consumers’ places of residence and work.

Employees of the burgeoning business process outsourcing (BPO) sector who work graveyard or daytime shifts are key customers of the convenience stores in urban areas nationwide. – Rappler.com