President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商), the nation’s largest convenience store chain, yesterday said it aims to accelerate its outlet expansion overseas, primarily in the Philippines and China.
The company is to increase the number of 7-Eleven stores in the Philippines from 2,000 outlets to 2,300 by the end of this year, it said.
“We expect the expansion in the Philippines will be quicker, as the company has developed a profitable business model there,” PCSC president Ray Chen (陳瑞堂) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
The company’s Philippine business made about NT$800 million (US$25.83 million) in net income last year, the 40-year-old firm said.
Asked about the company’s medium-term target, Chen said that PCSC plans to open 1,000 more stores in the region in the next three years.
PCSC is also continuing its expansion in China, with the number of stores expected to rise from 106 to 140 outlets this year.
Its Chinese business reached break-even point last year after closing some unprofitable stores, PCSC China business general manager Kevin Lin (林宏俊) told reporters, citing increasing rent costs and fierce competition in Shanghai.
In an effort to increase its market presence, the company plans to launch more own-brand products in China which are made by parent company Uni-President Enterprises Corp (統一企業), Lin said.
At home, the company would focus on raising same-store sales and remodeling existing stores, instead of opening more new outlets, Chen said.
The company operates more than 5,000 outlets in Taiwan.
The company’s top priority is to improve sales, Chen said.
The company said it plans capital expenditure of between NT$2.5 billion and NT$3 billion for this year, little changed from last year.
PCSC last year made a net profit of NT$9.84 billion, or earnings per share of NT$9.46 — an all-time high — up 19.4 percent from a year earlier.
The company’s board of directors approved distribution of a cash dividend of NT$8 per share, up from last year’s NT$7.2 per share, data showed.
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