Supermarket chain operator Puregold Price Club Inc. teamed up with Lawson Asia Pacific Inc. and Lawson Inc. of Japan to establish and operate a network of convenience stores in the Philippines.
Puregold said in a disclosure to the stock exchange it signed a joint venture agreement with Lawson Asia Pacific and Lawson Asia to invest in convenience stores.
Puregold said it would infuse 70 percent of the total investment in the joint venture while the two Japanese companies would invest the remaining 30 percent.
Lawson, a leading convenience store franchise chain in Japan, is also present in China, Indonesia, Thailand and Hawaii.
Puregold earlier said consolidated net sales were expected to grow 20 percent this year to P87.8 billion from P73.2 billion in 2013, as it planned to roll out 25 new stores.
The company plans to spend P3 billion to open 25 Puregold stores this year, including 10 which already opened in the first quarter.
The supermarket chain operator did not provide net income guidance for the year but said it aimed to “sustain current consolidated gross and net profit margins.”
Puregold said it would pursue acquisition to expand geographic footprint as it faced strong competition from other retail companies such as SM Retail Inc., Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. and start-up Community Malls Inc. of DoubleDragon Properties Inc.
SM group earmarked P5 billion to P6 billion to expand its retail business while DoubleDragon said it planned to build 100 community malls over the next five years.