Everyone’s fan of convenience. We live in times when every need, every fancy, every craving must be satisfied in an instant. This probably one of the reasons why, in the past few years, the country has been witness to the remarkable growth of the 24-hour convenience store chain called Ministop. To Ministop, the offer of convenience is nothing new. The store chain was conceptualized nearly 30 years ago in Japan as “a store where everybody stops by for a minute” to purchase anything they needed.
Ministop is one of the companies under the AEON Group of Companies, one of Japan’s latest retail groups today. The store proved to be so popular when it opened its first store in Yokohama that in just five short years, there were over a hundred Ministop stores across Japan. In 1990, Ministop established its first overseas store in Seoul, South Korea. To mark the new millennium, AEON Retail Group’s Ministop Company Ltd. Japan partnered with Mitsubishi Corporation and Robinsons Retail Group’s Convenience Stores, Inc. (RCSI) to open Ministop in the Philippines.
Home-style warmth and comfort
There’s much more to your favorite Ministop neighborhood store than meets the eye. The ubiquitous but unassuming yellow and blue façade is now practically synonymous with accessibility and convenience. Its logo, in bright and sunny yellow and cool, refreshing blue resembles a house beside a tree. This portrays Ministop as a warm, friendly place where people can relax, conveying “home-style warmth and comfort.” Applying the “Customers First” principle, Ministop’s customer-focused management gives in a competitive advantage among other convenience stores.
Pioneering the ‘combo-store’
Unknown to many, it was Ministop that pioneered the unique “combo-store” format, successfully combining two of the most common services frequented by modern consumers: the grocery store and the fastfood outlet.
Ministop carries a wide assortment of grocery products plus an exclusive selection of best-selling fastfood products such as soft-serve ice cream, deep-fried chicken, Kariman, dimsum and dumplings, fresh sandwiches, pasta, freshly-baked pastries, and other ready-to-eat meals.
Because Filipinos love food, Ministop continues to develop and introduced a wide variety of unique, fresh and affordable products that cater to the Pinoy palate, all made available just a few steps away no matter where you are. This is also why all Ministop stores have comfortable dining facilities, making it a great place to meet and eat, plus fully equipped kitchens, enabling store personnel to prepare freshly-made food products with ease and speed. The combo-store format quickly became a hit among Ministop’s busy customers in the different countries it operates in, who welcomed the convenience of having a one-stop shop for all their needs.
A viable investment
“There’s a constant demand for Minisop stores. It’s a very viable option for people looking to open their first business, because we provide support in the critical aspects of day-to-day operations,” says RCSI president Johnson Robert Go Jr. A Ministop business is a shared investment — which means that the business partner is not alone in handling store operations, and is backed by a wide assortment of fast-selling products, state-of-the-art technology, plus full marketing support and the strength of industry leaders.
To date, Ministop continues to be one of the country’s fastest-growing businesses because it attracts average consumers and smart entrepreneurs alike. For inquiries on acquiring a Ministop business, contact the Ministop Business Development Group at 672-2279, 0922-8780628, 0922-8780629, or email business@ministop.com.ph. You may also visit the Ministop website, www.ministop.com.ph.