7-Eleven franchisor sees 1,000 stores in 3 years

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC), the local franchisor of the global convenience store chain brand 7-Eleven, expects its branch network to hit 1,000 in the next three years from the current 501 stores.

At the opening of its newest store at Eton Centris in Quezon City yesterday, PSC president and chief executive officer Jose Victor P. Paterno said the firm is opening 100 new stores this year and another 130 by 2011. Each store would cost around P5 million, he said.

“It took us 25 years to open 500 stores. We’re hopeful that the next 500 stores can be done in three years. We’re looking at Luzon as next site for our expansion. We don’t have a branch yet in Laoag and Bicol so we’ll see,” Paterno said, pointing out that Luzon has a population of around 50 million.

Last year, the company opened a record 90 new stores with 7-Eleven franchises accounting for a dominant 60 percent share. Several StarMart convenience outlets located in Caltex gasoline stations have been converted into 7-Eleven stores. 

Paterno said the group is hoping to increase the number of franchised stores similar to other markets overseas. In Taiwan, the ratio of franchised stores to company-owned is 85:15 while in the US, the ratio stands at 70:30.

Chris Tanco, senior vice-president of 7-Eleven International, said PSC has one of the highest number of transactions a day among all 7-Eleven stores worldwide. It is also the biggest seller of hotdogs, he added.

Last year, PSC posted a net income of P156 million, up 85 percent from 2009 on the back of a 11 percent hike in revenues.

Systemwide sales rose 13 percent to P7.04 billion, boosting revenues to P6 billion.

PSC ended the first quarter with a total of 470 stores, 99 stores more than last year, chalking in systemwide sales of P2 billion or an increase of 25 percent.