7-Eleven posts double-digit sales growth

Newly opened stores located in high traffic areas helped the local operator of the 7-Eleven chain of convenience stores to register double-digit sales growth last year, a company official said.

Lawrence De Leon, comptroller of listed Philippine Seven Corp., said that while audit on the company’s full-year finances has yet to be completed, sales of in 7-Eleven stores likely posted impressive growth despite the prevailing global economic slowdown.

“The fourth quarter is usually a strong quarter for 7-Eleven and the last one ended meeting our expectations.” de Leon said. PSC is the local operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain.

Based on its latest report to the Securities and Exchange Commission, PSC’s net income grew by 73 percent to P57.5 million during the first nine months of the year, from P33.3 million reported during the same period in 2007.

System-wide sales grew to P4.5 billion from January to September 2008, from P4.1 billion in the same period the previous year. De Leon said the increase in the company’s sales continued until the last quarter of 2008, driven by the strong performance of new 7-Eleven stores near call centers and business process outsourcing (BPO) offices in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.

De Leon also attributed the surge in sales to the company’s intensified marketing and merchandising strategies. For instance, he said 7-Eleven stores noticed a marked increase in the sales of fresh fruits which are strategically located in the stores as well as featured items for the week promoted by the store staff.

“The same is true for our breads and bakery category, which are delivered fresh in our stores daily. When we placed the freshly baked breads near our cashier counters, more people bought them,” he added.

Aside from these, de Leon said raffle promotions during the summer and Christmas seasons helped in encouraging 7-Eleven customers to buy more. “We saw people buying more just so they qualify in the raffle,” he said.