FamilyMart opens for franchising

MANILA, Philippines - Japan’s FamilyMart, the world’s second largest convenience store chain, will be opening its doors for franchising by the end of the year to accelerate  its expansion in the country.

The FamilyMart brand is eyeing to hit the century mark in terms of the number of its stores in the country by yearend. It opened 31 stores last year and plans to end 2014 with up to 90 to 100 stores.

Aside from speeding up its store rollout locally, Philippine FamilyMart and SSI Group Inc. president Anton Huang said franchising will offer opportunities to Filipino families and individual entrepreneurs looking for ways to go into business.

“We will provide all-out support to ensure that their business is properly run. We want them to succeed because their success is ours as well,” Huang said.

He said details for the brand’s franchising scheme are still being worked out at the moment.

The FamilyMart brand operates in the Philippines under SIAL CVS Retailers Inc., a joint venture between specialty store retailer SSI Group Inc. of the Rustan’s Group and property giant Ayala Land.

Huang said SSI’s long experience in building brands in the country is critical for the FamilyMart brand to gain a distinct position in the market and immediate consumer acceptance.

“From a virtually unknown brand, FamilyMart has now become a recognizable brand that has ushered in a new convenience store lifestyle,” he said.

FamilyMart was established in Japan in the 1970s and currently holds the distinction as the world’s second largest convenience store chain with more than 22,000 branches worldwide.

The convenience store is operating in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, USA and the Philippines.

Since opening its first store at Glorietta 3 Makati in April last year, the Japan-based brand has been aggressively expanding its footprint in the Philippines with 46 outlets as of end-June.