MANILA – The
rising middle class in the Philippines
has caught the eye of Japan’s
FamilyMart, which released plans for adding multiple locations in the country
this year, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reports.
“The Philippine economy is growing and there is a growing need for convenience store services,”
said Store Specialists Inc. executive vice president Anthony T. Huang. Earlier
in April, FamilyMart’s first Philippine branch welcomed shoppers. The Philippines is
the eighth market for FamilyMart apart from its home country of Japan.
FamilyMart units
in the Philippines
will stock Japanese food products and ready-to-eat meals. “The first store …
the high-quality design and service standards that everyone can expect for
succeeding FamilyMart stores,” said the company in a statement.
“We believe that
by jointly working on the FamilyMart business with the Ayala Group and the
Rustan’s Group, two of the most trusted names in the Philippines, we will be
able to leverage the Ayala Group’s extensive knowledge of store properties and
its store development know-how, along with the Rustan’s Group’s retailing
industry know-how, and thereby establish a store operation with a stronger
foundation in the Philippines, as well as achieve faster store expansion.”