SMIC mulls feasibility of bringing in Indon convenience store chain

MANILA, Philippines - Mall, banking and retail conglomerate SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) is studying the feasibility of introducing Indonesian convenience store chain Alfamart to the Philippines.

A neighborhood store concept will be SM Group’s answer to the intensifying competition in the convenience store segment that has prompted local conglomerateas to partner with foreign players, an executive said late last week.

SMIC chief finance officer Jose Sio said the conglomerate is taking its time as it studies opportunities in the convenience store market.

Sio said it has yet to sign a partnership deal with Alfamart.

“For Alfamart, their concept is neighborhood store,” Sio said, adding that the convenience store business will complement the SM Retail’s chain of supermarkets.

Established in 1989 by Djoko Susanto and family as a consumer goods trader and distributor, Alfamart entered the retail sector at the turn of the millennium.

In 2002, the company acquired 141 Alfa Minimart stores. To date, it is one of Indonesia’s leading retailers, serving more than 2.5 million customers daily with 7,000 stores.

The local convenience store segment is on a rapid expansion, boosted largely by the increasing disposable income of consumers.

For instance, Japanese convenience store giant Lawson Inc. will enter the Philippine market through Lucio Co’s Puregold Price Club Inc. FamilyMart Co. Ltd. teamed up with the Ayala and Rustan’s Group while the Gokongwei family is expanding its Ministop store network.

Market leader Philippine Seven Corp., the local licensee of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain, is banking on the robust retail market and franchising to maintain its position as the country’s largest convenience store chain and double its stores to 2,000 in the next three to four years.