Hot on the heels of opening their first 2 Malaysian outlets, plans to open more FamilyMart stores are currently underway.
FamilyMart is Japan’s third largest convenience store chain, behind 7-Eleven and Lawson, and used to be the largest chain store in South Korea (now renamed to CU). In Japan, all of the usual Japanese convenience store goods such as basic grocery items, magazines, manga, soft drinks, alcoholic drinks like sake, nikuman, fried chicken, onigiri, and bento are available.
In Southeast Asia, FamilyMart can be found in Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Indonesia. As of 31st March 2016, FamilyMart has a whopping total of 17,540 stores in 7 countries worldwide.
QL Resources Bhd’s wholly-owned unit, Maxincome Resources Sdn Bhd, signed a franchise agreement with Tokyo-based FamilyMart Co Ltd for the development and operation of FamilyMart convenience stores in Malaysia.
In November, the first FamilyMart Malaysia branch opened at Wisma Lim Foo Yong on Jalan Raja Chulan in Kuala Lumpur. It was met with such great response that it prompted the store to close early in its 1st week as they couldn’t keep up with the demand. Then, without skipping a beat, the second FamilyMart Malaysia branch opened in arguably the most popular location in the Klang Valley – Mid Valley Megamall.
At the launch of the Mid Valley Megamall outlet, QL Resources Bhd executive director Chia Lik Khai confirmed that they’re working on opening more stores. “We have allocated RM15 million to RM20 million for store expansion every year and we are optimistic that we are on track to achieve 300 stores in five years,” he was quoted as saying.
“The store expansion will focus within the Klang Valley area as a start, while Sabah and Sarawak will come much later,” he added.
Another 2 FamilyMart stores are slated to open by year-end, located at Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) station and Gateway at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (gateway@klia2), bringing total stores opened this year to 4.
FamilyMart is currently the only convenience-store chain in the country that originates from Japan.
For more information, visit FamilyMart Malaysia’s Facebook page and website.
Sources: The Sun Daily, TRP / Featured image: TRP.
