Posted on
April 22, 2013 10:34:35 PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
LOCAL
FRANCHISING of FamilyMart -- the Japanese convenience store brand brought into
the country by Ayala Land, Inc. and Rustan Group -- could start by early next
year, a top official of the chain’s Philippine operator told reporters
yesterday.
“The first 40 (FamilyMart stores) will all be
company-owned. As we move along, we assume that 60% of our stores will be
company-owned, and 40% will be franchises. We will be ready with our
franchising model hopefully… by the end of this year or start of next year,” Anthony
T. Huang, president of local FamilyMart operator Philippine FamilyMart CVS,
Inc., said in a briefing at The Peninsula Manila in Makati City yesterday.
“There lot of
inquiries for franchising opportunities,” Mr. Huang noted.
“That,
however, will require separate dedicated management to support day-to-day
operations. Since we are at the start-up phase, we are unable to look at that
in greater detail at this time. At this stage, we have yet to sort out the
final details.”
Formed in
1981, FamilyMart is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, according to its Web
site.
In November
last year, Philippine FamilyMart CVS parent SIAL CVS Retailers, Inc. -- a
partnership between Varejo Corp. and Specialty Investments, Inc., wholly owned
units of Ayala Land and Rustan-led Store Specialists, Inc. (SSI), respectively
-- signed a shareholders agreement with Japanese firms FamilyMart Co. Ltd. and
Itochu Corp. for development and operation rights for FamilyMart stores in the
country.
The first FamilyMart
store in the Philippines opened last April 7 in Glorietta 3, Ayala Center in
Makati City, with the next seven branches this year to open in the cities of
Makati, Pasay, Pasig, and Quezon, Philippine FamilyMart CVS said in a statement
yesterday.
“Our stores
will be located in high-density areas… so we are targeting very high growth
areas in Metro Manila such as schools, retail centers and transportation hubs,”
Maria Corazon G. Dizon, Ayala Land vice-president and head, Business
Development and Strategic Planning, Commercial Business Group, said in the same
briefing.
Ayala Land
was organized in 1988 when conglomerate Ayala Corp. spun off its real estate
division into an independent unit.
On the other
hand, SSI -- founded by husband and wife Bienvenido R. Tantoco and Gliceria
Rustia -- currently has a fashion portfolio of 80 brands such as Zara, Calvin
Klein, Cartier, Burberry, Marks & Spencer, Prada, and over 512 stores as of
end-2012, Mr. Huang said.
Mr. Huang,
who is also SSI executive vice-president, said SSI is set to introduce Brooks
Brothers, an American apparel brand, within the year.
“Brooks
Brothers is opening toward the middle of this year. I think for this year, we
are looking at three stores in Rockwell (Center), Bonifacio High Street, and
Shangri-La mall. Over the next few years, we should have five or six (stores),”
Mr. Huang said in a separate interview.
“It’s a
classic offering which appeals to the Filipino male consumer,” he added, noting
that “American brands do very well in the Philippines.”
Shares of
listed Ayala Land added 80 centavos or 2.53% to P32.45 apiece yesterday from
P31.65 each on Friday last week. -- Franz Jonathan G. de la Fuente
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