Posted on November 16, 2012 07:39:36
PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
FINDS CONVENIENCE Stores, Inc., the
unlisted retail arm of the Villar Group, is open to partnering with foreign
firms to possibly rival the recent partnership of the Ayala and Rustan Groups
with Japan-based FamilyMart Co., Ltd. in the convenience store business.
“We will start to consider tying up
when we hit the 100-store mark,” Manuel B. Villar, Jr., Villar Group chairman,
told reporters in an informal chance interview following the third quarter
results briefing of developer Vista Land & Lifescapes, Inc., a sister firm
of Finds Convenience Stores, in Makati City on Thursday.
Mr. Villar was asked if Finds
Convenience Stores, which was originally conceptualized to cater to residents
in Vista Land developments nationwide, will be keen on partnering with foreign
companies to further strengthen its brand, tracking developer Ayala Land, Inc.
in its foray into convenience store operations.
Earlier this month, SIAL CVS
Retailers, Inc. inked a shareholder agreement with Japanese firms FamilyMart
and Itochu Corp. for the development and operation rights for FamilyMart
stores. SIAL CVS Retailers is a partnership between Varejo Corp., a unit of
Ayala Land, and Specialty Investments, Inc., a unit of Rustan-led Store
Specialists.
Asked for a timetable for Finds
Convenience Stores’ expansion, Mr. Villar said: “We should hit that [100
stores] in a year or two.”
The first Finds store was opened on
Dec. 20, 2008 at Springville in Bacoor, Cavite, with the second unit introduced
in Starmall, Las Piñas City a week later, according to the Web site of
Starmalls, Inc., another sister firm of Finds Convenience Stores.
“It was envisioned to become a
community store, giving comfort and convenience while serving the needs of its
customers at an affordable price,” Starmalls said of Finds Convenience Stores.
In December last year, Finds
Convenience Stores said it intended to end the year with 50 branches to backed
by a group of at least 103 food, beverage, and service suppliers.
It also said that it aimed to
challenge the dominance of the country’s top convenience store firms, namely,
7-Eleven, operated by Philippine Seven Corp., and Ministop, which operates
under Gokongwei-led holding company JG Summit Holdings, Inc. -- Franz Jonathan
G. de la Fuente
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