FamilyMart to open 40 outlets this year

MANILA, Philippines - Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart is aiming to open 40 outlets in the country by the end of the year, citing opportunities for growth with the still huge gap between existing stores and the huge population.

“We’re looking at 40 stores this year at the minimum and we’re looking at doubling that next year,” Philippine FamilyMart CVS Retailers, Inc. president Anton Huang said in a press briefing yesterday.

Philippine FamilyMart CVS Retailers, which would handle the local operations of the convenience store chain, is a joint venture formed by Japanese retail giant FamilyMart Co., Ltd., Japanese conglomerate Itochu Corp. and local firm SIAL CVS Retailers, Inc.

SIAL CVS Retailers is a partnership between Varejo Corp. and Specialty Investments, Inc., wholly-owned subsidiaries of Stores Specialists, Inc. and Ayala Land Inc. (ALI)

ALI vice president Maria Corazon Dizon said P2 billion would be spent to open 300 stores in the next five years.

“In 10 years, we will have over a thousand stores,” she added.

Huang said all the 40 stores to be opened this year would be located within Mega Manila.

The stores targeted for this year includes the FamilyMart outlet which opened at Glorietta 3 in Makati City earlier this month.

Huang said the second store is scheduled to open next month and to meet the target, one new store would be operational every week towards the end of the year.

Three more stores are being put up in Makati located at the Ayala Metro Rail Transit station, Glorietta 5 and Dela Rosa Carpark 1, while four more would open at the Exchange Regency in Pasig City, Global One Center in Eastwood in Quezon City, Metro Point Mall in Pasay City and The District in Cavite City.

While all the stores to be opened this year would be owned by the company, Huang said they are also looking at increasing FamilyMart’s presence through franchising.