CP All plans overseas ventures

CP All plans to launch 7-Eleven convenience stores in China before branching out closer to home in Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia ahead of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015.

The moves would multiply its customer base from 65 million |to 600 million, managing director Piyawat Titasattavorakul said |yesterday.

The company is requesting a licence from the 7-Eleven rights holder in the United States. Once it clinches the licence, it is ready to invest in China. CP All is preliminarily entitled to deploying stores in one zone in China.

The move is in line with the company's focus on penetrating local and overseas frontiers, including China, to cope with the upcoming AEC. CP All has set aside a capital-expenditure budget of Bt6.5 billion for its Thai operations, of which Bt3 billion will go to opening 550 outlets and upgrading 700 stores. This will bring its stores to 7,370 by year-end from the present 6,822 nationwide. It targets 10,000 stores by 2018.

Of the remaining budget, Bt1.5 billion will go to building dry-|food distribution centres in many provinces and Bt1 billion to installing more information-technology systems and developing other projects.

The total retail market last year rose 10.9 per cent, while the convenience-store business grew by 23 per cent, supermarkets by 9 per cent and traditional trade by 7 per cent.

The retail market has experienced tougher competition, so the company had to adjust by adding more brands to its shelves, Piyawat said.