Lawson Philippines debuts today

The much anticipated debut of Lawson Philippines will occur today, Monday.

The first store will open in the Manila suburb of Sta. Ana.

Lawson Philippines is a joint venture between local operator Puregold Price Club (70 per cent) and Lawson Japan (30 per cent). The two companies plan a massive network of 500 convenience stores across the Philippines by 2020, with up to 100 opening this calendar year.

Initially the chain will be focused on metro Manila.

Lawson’s debut will have little immediate effect on the nation’s cstore sector, but once it builds critical mass, it will present a challenge to the dominance 7-Eleven chain and compete with the rising FamilyMart and Ministop networks.

“Under the partnership, Lawson will provide its expertise in convenient stores know-how and product development while Puregold will provide its expertise in product procurement and localized knowledge of the retail consumers,” the company said in a statement.

In May 2014, during a visit to Manila, Lawson Japan chairman Takeshi Niinami said the company was planning as many as 2000 convenience stores in the Philippines in the long term.