7-Eleven Franchises In The Philippines7-Eleven is the pioneer and the largest chain of 24-hour convenience stores in the Philippines. With 286 outlets nationwide and still growing, it remains the industry leader for over 25 years although the competition is getting stiffer with the emergence of stores with similar concept. The 7-Eleven venture started in the Philippines in 1982, when businessman and former senator Vicente T. Paterno, head of the Philippine Seven Corporation, acquired the license to operate 7-Eleven stores from Southland Corporation, now known as the 7-Eleven Incorporated. The 24-hour convenience store concept was a novel idea then and even seemed like a bad timing for a new business, with the country being politically and economically unstable. Nevertheless, the Philippine Seven Corporation persisted and, in 1984, the first 7-Eleven store opened in Kamuning, Quezon City. Today, there are 195 stores in Metro Manila and 89 in the province serving over 300,000 customers per day, making 7-Eleven the top convenience store chain in the country.
The influx of the business process outsourcing jobs in the Philippines like the contact centers, which requires the employees to work in the graveyard shift, opened a big opportunity for businesses which are available twenty-four hours a day. The 7-Eleven stores took this opportunity by opening stores in strategic places near the contact centers and places with heavy foot traffic during night time. Its customers generally belong to the C and D class market and from 19-35 age brackets. Ever true to its mission, 7-eleven offers grocery items, toiletries, beverages, foods-to-go, loading services, prepaid cards, SIM packs, among others, at reasonable prices, through speedy transactions in a clean, safe and friendly environment. Its proprietary products Slurpee and Big Gulp are perennial bestsellers while hotdog, sandwich, siopao, siomai, and rice meals also sell well especially to people-on-the-go. It also offers cell phone loading services for Smart load, Globe Autoload and even Smart Money, Smart Padala and Globe G-cash. On January 2006, 7-Eleven pioneered bill payments through its 24-hour Payment Express (undertaken in partnership with Citibank and EC Pay), which accepts bill payments to G-Quest, G-Net, Globe Handyphone, Globelines / Innove Communications, HSBC Loans, Manila Water, Maynilad, New York Life Insurance, Nippon Life Insurance, Pacific Internet, Philam Life Insurance, Pioneer Insurance, Sky/Home Cable/ZPDee, Sony Life Insurance, Sunlife Insurance, PLDT, Smart, Smart Bro/ Smart Wi-Fi, Prime Water. Now, one can even buy Super Ferry tickets at selected outlets. With all these products and services, 7-Eleven is truly the ultimate one-stop shop in the country. Philippine Seven Corporation was awarded the International Master Franchise of the Year in the 2006 Franchise Excellence Award. This gave the distinction to the 7-Eleven licensor in recognition for its continued leadership in the Retail Food-Large Scale Category. Entrepreneur Philippines magazine also named 7-Eleven Convenience Store as one of the 2006 Fastest Growing Franchises for its efficient operation, good customer service, and proven track record in business. This year, it once again made it to the Entrepreneur Philippines' list of the Best Foreign Franchises, which were rated. In 1998, Philippine Seven Corporation started offering 7-Eleven Convenience Stores for franchise. It offers two types of franchise packages: the FCI franchise package, where the corporate-owned stores are converted into franchise stores, and the service agreement package, where franchisees are given the license to open new stores. As of June 2007, 159 outlets are PSC-owned, 66 outlets are franchised under the FCI franchise package, while the remaining 61 are under the service agreement package. The standard franchise package is PHP 500,000 (almost $10,900) which includes use of trademark and logo, store design, 6-week comprehensive training seminar, pre-opening assistance, equipment and initial inventory. The required total investment would range from PHP 3 million (approx. $65,400) to PHP 6 million (approx. $130,800). Franchise is on a five-year-term which can be renewed for another five years. Estimated recovery period is three years. |