7-Eleven cuts capital spending; store openings amid pandemic

De Leon said already 95 percent of their total store network is now fully operational as authorities have eased community quarantine amid the pandemic. (File photo: Duy Nguyen/Unsplash)

MANILA – Philippine Seven Corporation (PSC), the exclusive licensor of 7-Eleven stores in the country, is slashing by half its capital expenditures (capex) budget this year as it reduces store openings target amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

“About the capital expenditures, we are revisiting our plan. Initially, it’s PHP4 billion so it’s PHP2 billion at the moment. But again, the situation remains to be very fluid and that will be still subject to another round of evaluation as we move on the succeeding months,” PSC finance head Lawrence de Leon said in a virtual media briefing Thursday on the sidelines of the company’s stockholders’ meeting.

De Leon said the company aims to put up at least 200 new stores this year, half of the original plan of 400.

“But because of the pandemic, we are re-evaluating our market development plan,” he added.

PSC ended 2019 with 2,864 stores in the Philippines, 349 of which were opened within the year.

De Leon said already 95 percent of their total store network is now fully operational as authorities have eased community quarantine amid the pandemic.

“So there is 5 percent which remains closed during GCQ (general community quarantine). It has improved a lot. In March, there was about 30 percent of our store base which was temporarily closed but now it’s down to 5 percent,” he said.

PSC president and chief executive officer Jose Victor Paterno said the 5 percent of their store network were closed not because they were not allowed to open but “sales is not worth even the salaries of the staff.”