Taipei, Feb. 2 (CNA) Philippine Seven Corp., operator of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain in the Southeast Asian country, plans to invest 5 billion Philippine pesos (US$85.59 million) to add more than 400 stores in 2025, the company's Taiwanese investor has said.
The exclusive licensee to run 7-Eleven stores in the Philippines targeted an increase of 450 stores in its ongoing expansion after growing the number of stores to 4,130 last year, according to Taiwan-based UNI-President Chain Store Corp., which holds a 55.32-percent stake in Philippine Seven.
The 7-Eleven chain will be the first to establish a presence in the three major market regions -- Luzon, Mindanao and Visayas -- in the Southeast Asian nation, the Taiwanese company said.
Philippine Seven will focus on shoring up its market share in Mindanao and Visayas, and on opening stores in areas in Luzon, where the chain has no stores, said the UNI-President Chain Store Corp., which operates the 7-Eleven chain in Taiwan.
The Taiwanese company acquired a controlling stake in the Philippine company in 2000.
Despite annual losses in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Philippine company returned to profit in 2022, and has added more than 350 stores a year since 2023, according to UNI-President Chain Store Corp.
In October 2024, Philippine Seven opened its 4,000th store in Pasay City as the company marked the chain's 40th anniversary in the country.
Uni-President Enterprises Corp. Chairman Lo Chih-hsien (羅智先), previously said at a shareholders' meeting last year that there remains plenty of space for the 7-Eleven chain to grow in the Philippines, given its population of 100 million.
"The sector is not too crowded, and we are the only one who runs the business efficiently," Lo said when talking about Philippine Seven at the time.
The chain in the Philippines is still a retailer focusing on selling goods, compared to 7-Eleven stores in Taiwan, which have become more focused on business generated by a range of services, according to Lo.
