Number of 7-Eleven stores tops 10,000 in Thailand

• Aug 17, 2017

The number of 7-Eleven convenience stores in Thailand has topped 10,000, achieving the milestone at a faster pace than in Japan, their local operator says.

CP All Public Co, under Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group Co, says the number of 7-Eleven stores totalled 10,007 by the end of June.

It took the Thai operator 28 years to reach the 10,000 mark since opening its first 7-Eleven store in 1989.

CP All plans to add about 700 outlets this year and hopes to reach a total of 13,000 within the next four years.

The company says it is poised to allocate 60% of its planned capital expenditure of 9.5 billion to 10 billion baht this year for store expansion and renovation.

The franchise leads the pack of Japanese convenience store brands in Thailand, where FamilyMart stores totalled 1,136 as of the end of July and Lawson stores numbered 85 as of the end of February.

A researcher at Kasikorn Research Centre Co, a think tank under Kasikornbank Public Co, told NNA that CP All has endeavoured to meet local preferences as urbanisation has spread in the Southeast Asian country.

The researcher also pointed out that Charoen Pokphand Foods Public Co, the conglomerate’s food business unit, has long supported the convenience store operator through stable supply of food products.

The 7-Eleven Japan Co has aggressively expanded store networks across Southeast Asia after obtaining the US-originating brand and later giving local businesses abroad the right to operate stores.

The number of 7-Eleven outlets in the region, including Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam, had increased to a total of 14,699 at the end of June, accounting for nearly one-fourth of the global total, compared with 19,588 stores in Japan.

Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1307876/number-of-7-eleven-stores-tops-10-000-in-thailand