Taiwan FamilyMart Co (全家便利商店), the operator of the nation’s second-largest convenience store chain, yesterday broke ground for a new multi-temperature logistics center in Hualien County’s Jian Township (吉安), which is expected to begin operations next year.
FamilyMart president Hsueh Dong-du (薛東都) said at the groundbreaking ceremony that the NT$560 million (US$18.78 million) investment would enhance the convenience store chain’s capacity in sorting and transshipping store merchandise and e-commerce packages.
It would also help improve the chain’s logistics distribution network and operational efficiency in the eastern part of Taiwan, he said in a press release by the Hualien County Government.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan FamilyMart Co
The COVID-19 pandemic has witnessed explosive growth in e-commerce and the frozen food business, and FamilyMart has responded by boosting investments in supply chain integration, logistics enhancement, information management and fresh food processing.
The new two-story logistics center in the Guanghua Industrial Park (光華工業區) will have a total floor space of 2,500 ping (8,260m2), the release said.
It will include processing facilities and warehouses for frozen and room temperature products, it added.
The center will be used mainly by FamilyMart’s logistics subsidiaries Taiwan Distribution Center Co (全台物流) and Re-Yi Distribution Service Co (日翊文化物流), the release said, adding that the investment is to meet the medium and long-term logistics needs in Hualien and Taitung counties.
The large warehousing space in the new logistics center would boost the capacity of the company’s distribution of goods for stores in eastern Taiwan by 40 percent, it said.
FamilyMart has two multi-temperature logistics centers — in Kaohsiung’s Gangshan District (岡山) and in New Taipei City’s Rueifang District (瑞芳) — and several satellite warehouses in Taoyuan and Tainan.
The company on Monday reported consolidated revenue of NT$7.27 billion for last month, up 3.3 percent from a year earlier, thanks to branch expansion and higher fresh food and beverage sales.
Revenue in the first four months of the year grew 1.4 percent annually to NT$28.26 billion, it said.
As of the end of last month, FamilyMart had 4,030 stores in Taiwan, up from 3,980 at the end of last year.
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