FamilyMart Philippines operator ramping up expansion

PHILIPPINE FAMILYMART CVS, Inc. will open 14 more stores by yearend, as the operator of convenience stores accelerates its expansion under the helm of Davao-based businessman Dennis A. Uy.
“We have 14 stores to be opened in the succeeding months… We’re now 71, we hope to get close to 100 soon,” FamilyMart General Manager Roald Johann L. Yap said in a recent interview.
This will bring the company’s number of operating stores to 85 by the end of 2018.
Mr. Yap said the new branches will be opened in Luzon, where all its stores are also currently located.
The new stores will feature the company’s recently launched Generation 2 design, which will offer wider dining spaces for customers, around 200 new food products including Japan’s crispy chicken fillet, Japanese treats, hotdog sandwiches, and Filipino merienda delicacies, as well as new service crew uniforms designed by renowned Filipino designer Rajo Laurel.
FamilyMart unveiled last week its first Generation 2 store, after the company refurbished its very first outlet in the country located at the ground floor of Glorietta 3 at Ayala Center, Makati City. Alongside the opening of more stores, Mr. Yap said they will also be redesigning 14 stores next year to showcase the Generation 2 concept.
Mr. Yap said the new stores will be operated by franchisees as part of the company’s expansion strategies.
“We’re a franchise business, one of the values we really adhere to is helping our franchisees succeed because if you take care of them, they’re the ones who take care of their customers,” Mr. Yap said.
Asked how many new stores are scheduled for 2019, Mr. Yap said they plan to outnumber the store openings they had for this year. So far, he noted that they have opened close to 20.
“Hopefully we can surprise you guys with a number next year,” he added.
The Japanese chain of convenience stores entered the Philippines via SIAL CVS Retailers, Inc., a joint venture between Ayala Land, Inc.’s ALI Capital Corp. and SSI Group, Inc., along with Japanese partners FamilyMart Co. Ltd., and Itochu Corp. The group earlier said it planned to grow FamilyMart to 500 stores by 2018.
SIAL CVS Retailers was then acquired by Mr. Uy’s group in 2017 through his independent oil firm Phoenix Petroleum Philippines, Inc. The move was seen to facilitate FamilyMart’s expansion, as the convenience store could complement Phoenix Petroleum’s service stations nationwide. By end-June, the company operated a total of 545 stations.
FamilyMart registered a seven percent average daily sales growth during the first six months of the year. Phoenix Petroleum said it targets to make the business profitable by 2019. — Arra B. Francia