Philippine Seven Corp., the local licensee of 7-Eleven convenience stores, said it plans to open 300 new stores in 2019 as it aims to operate 3,000 stores by the end of the year.
PSC president Jose Victor Paterno said in an interview before the annual stockholders' meeting that the company budgeted P3.5 billion in capital expenditures this year, primarily to fund the roll-out of new stores, the renovation of existing outlets and product launches.
“Going forward we expect openings to accelerate as we improve execution and adopt a more aggressive stance as competition from the emerging minimart channel increases,” Paterno said.
He said while competition in the convenience store industry had lessened compared to three to four years ago, new stores formats like minimarts were now posing competition to the company.
Big retailers like Puregold and SM already have smaller store formats, he said.
Paterno expects high single-digit growth in same-store-sales this year.