Puregold brings in Japan’s Lawson convenience store

MANILA, Philippines - Japanese convenience store giant Lawson is making its debut in the Philippines by the end of the month in Sta. Ana, Manila.

In a regulatory filing, PG Lawson Inc., the joint venture company between Lucio Co-controlled Puregold Price Club Inc. and Lawson Asia Pacific Inc., said it is set to open the first Lawson store in the country on March 30 in an urban residential area in Manila.

The first Lawson store opening would officially mark the entry of the convenience store giant in the Philippine market currently dominated by the likes of 7-Eleven and fellow Japanese chains MiniStop and FamilyMart.

“With the opening of the first store, Lawson sets in motion the planned 50 store openings in 2015,” Puregold said.

Over the long term, Lawson is targeting to roll out 500 convenience stores across the country by 2020.

“Under the partnership, Lawson will provide its expertise in convenient stores know-how and product development, while Puregold will provide its expertise in product procurement and localized knowledge of the retail consumers,” publicly-listed Puregold said.

Puregold president Leonardo Dayao earlier assured that the first Lawson outlet in the country would open this month despite facing delays in construction.

Dayao said the first store would have a size of about 120 square meters at a cost of about P5 million to P6 million.

Under an agreement signed in June last year, Puregold and Lawson would jointly build and operate the Lawson convenience stores in the country wherein the former would invest 70 percent in the joint venture, while the latter would own the remaining 30 percent.