Companies

Thai 7-Eleven operator mulls China stores

By Anuchit Nguyen (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-04-06 11:14

A 7-Eleven convenience store in Bangkok. CP All Pcl, the Thai 7-Eleven convenience-store operator, has boosted its profit almost fivefold in the last three years. [Photo / Bloomberg]

 

BANGKOK - CP All Pcl, the Thai 7-Eleven convenience-store operator controlled by billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont, said it may open outlets in China and neighboring Southeast Asian countries to tap rising incomes.

The Bangkok-based retailer aims to boost revenue by at least 15 percent annually by adding stores, Kriengchai Boonpoapichart, head of finance and investor relations, said in an interview on Tuesday. CP All, the world's third-largest 7-Eleven chain operator by number of stores, plans to open about 500 new outlets a year, with more than half outside Bangkok, he said.

CP All, which operates about 6,000 convenience stores in Thailand and has boosted its profit almost fivefold in the last three years on outlet expansion, aims to tap demand in regions of China outside Beijing and Shanghai and may bid for a franchise in the country's north, Kriengchai said. The retailer may also start stores in neighboring Southeast Asian countries.

"We are exploring opportunities in China where there is still vast potential with incomes rising," Kriengchai said. "Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia are also on the company's expansion plan with their underdeveloped retail industry."

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China overtook Japan to become the world's second-largest economy last year and Premier Wen Jiabao is promoting domestic consumption to bolster growth and cut reliance on exports.

CP All plans to increase sales of ready-to-eat meals such as hamburgers, sandwiches and bakery products, which yield higher margins, to bolster earnings growth, said Kriengchai.

Shares of CP All have added 1.9 percent this year, extending a 58 percent rally in 2010 and more than doubling in value in 2009. CP All's Chairman Dhanin Chearavanont, 71, was Thailand's richest person with estimated assets of $6.5 billion, according to Forbes magazine's annual global ranking released last month.

CP All expects to benefit from an anticipated jump in domestic spending ahead of national elections as Thailand's government accelerates investment in public works and other programs to lure voters, Kriengchai said.

"Historically, there has been a boost in consumer spending ahead of the general elections," he said. "Consumers probably have more money and confidence to spend with more money supply from election-related programs."

CP All, which opened its first store in 1989, posted revenue of 135 billion baht ($4.5 billion) last year. Net income climbed 33 percent to 6.66 billion baht. The company is the largest operator by number of outlets of Tokyo-based Seven & I Holdings Co's 7-Eleven stores after Japan and the United States.

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