President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商), the operator of the nation’s largest convenience store chain, is expanding its logistics facilities this year to explore business opportunities in the e-commerce sector, a company executive said yesterday.
PCSC plans to build a 5,000 ping (1.65 hectare) warehouse in Taoyuan’s Yangmei District (楊梅) to improve its logistics efficiency and meet increasing demand for its in-store pickup services, PCSC president Ray Chen (陳瑞堂) said on the sidelines of a news conference in Taipei.
PCSC also plans to expand the size of its existing warehouse in Tainan’s Gueiren District (歸仁) from 630 ping to about 1,000 ping, it said, without providing a detailed schedule.
“That would enable the company to distribute more than 600,000 packages per day, up from the nearly 580,000 it currently delivers,” Chen told reporters.
A price war in the domestic e-commerce market has boosted PCSC’s related business, as customers prefer to pick up packages at convenience stores when purchasing items online, thanks to the free shipping policies of local online shopping portal operators, such as Shopee Taiwan Co Ltd (樂購蝦皮) and PChome Online Inc (網路家庭).
PCSC said it expects to distribute more than 200 million e-commerce packages this year, up from 183 million e-commerce packages last year.
The convenience store chain operator declined to reveal its capital spending for the year, but it said the money would be used mainly to revamp at least 500 of its existing stores.
PCSC is also seeking other sources of income in overseas markets following the sale of its stake in President Starbucks Coffee Shanghai Corp (上海統一星巴克咖啡), it said.
The company plans to distribute a record-high cash dividend of NT$25 based on last year’s net profit of NT$31.02 billion (US$1.06 million), a 215 percent increase from the previous year.
The disposal of the 30 percent stake in the Shanghai unit to the US coffee giant allowed PCSC to book a disposal gain of NT$21.07 billion, or NT$20.26 per share.
PCSC plans to expand its presence in the Philippines this year, Chen said, adding that the company aims to lift the profitability of its existing stores in the nation.
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