Thailand
Cambodia: 7-Eleven launch here reset for year end or early 2023
7-Eleven has delayed opening its first convenience store in Cambodia until the end of this year from a previously reported target in June.
Kriengchai Boonpoapichart, chief financial officer at CP All Public Co Ltd, which asssigned the master franchise for the Kingdom to CP ALL (Cambodia) last year, said that opening in Phnom Penh is one of several strategies in place to develop and boost market share in the convenience sector during the second half of the year, local media has reported.
“The progress of the expansion to neighbouring countries, Cambodia and Laos, is still being implemented as planned,” he said.
“During this time, it is still in the preparation stage and expects to see the first branches in Cambodia by the end of the year,” he said.
It is hoped that half of the products sold in 7-Eleven stores will be procured from small and medium-sized Cambodian enterprises and help stimulate employment among local people.
The Cambodian master franchise was awarded to Thai stock exchange-listed (BKK:CPALL) CP All. It is the retail arm of Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group Co Ltd. CP All (Cambodia) Co Ltd and CP All (Laos) Co Ltd have each been granted franchising rights for 30 years to establish and operate 7-Eleven branches.
According to 7-Eleven Inc, CP All was set up in 1988 to operate 7-Eleven branches in Thailand under an exclusive licensing agreement with the brand.
In a news release accompanying the signing of the master franchise agreement with CP All Cambodia on May 7, 2020, Texas-based 7-Eleven Inc said: “The first Cambodian 7-Eleven-branded convenience store is expected to open in Phnom Penh in 2021.
“The master franchisee plans to construct stores, modernising the small-retail environment and bringing greater convenience to shoppers, backed by the world’s largest convenience retailing brand. Cambodia will be the 19th country where 7-Eleven stores operate or will operate soon,” it stated.
CP ALL has successfully operated 7-Eleven stores in Thailand for more than 30 years.
The stores there serve as one-stop destinations for beverages, snacks, ready-to-eat meals, cosmetics, household goods, financial services such as banking and bill payments, digital technology and delivery – all of which the company plans to replicate for Cambodian customers.
In Cambodia, 7-Eleven stores will compete with existing convenience stores such as local Smile Mini Marts and US-Canadian franchise Circle K, Kiwimart, Aeon MaxValu Express and Lucky Express.
CP ALL (Cambodia) had been in the process of recruiting staff to fill positions in the first branch. That location is to share space with a PTT station along National Road 5 in Prek Pnov district in north Phnom Penh. Messages to the recruiter went unanswered.
Other countries hosting the stores include the US, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Thailand, South Korea, China, the Philippines, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and India.
Following the opening of its first branch in Cambodia, six more were planned, said the Cambodian embassy in Thailand in May.
Source: https://www.khmertimeskh.com/50921726/7-eleven-launch-here-reset-for-year-end-or-early-2023/