PHILIPPINE Seven Corp., the local operator of 7-Eleven convenience stores, is putting up a distribution center in the Zamboanga region after seven stores that recently opened posted sales three to four times higher than the average for new outlets, a senior executive said.
Lawrence De Leon, head of finance and investor relations at Philippine Seven, said the company was encouraged by the performance of the stores, which opened in Zamboanga City on July 11. Five of the seven stores are company-owned while the other two are operated by franchisees.
“Mindanao is an underserved market and we are very encouraged with the sales performance of the new stores,” De Leon told reporters.
He said the stores were generating sales three to four times the average for a new 7-Eleven outlet despite the nearest distribution center (DC) being located far from the region.
“We are now in the process of putting up a new DC in Zamboanga Peninsula to ensure a stable supply for our 7-Eleven stores in those locations,” De Leon said.
He said the planned distribution center was expected to strengthen the supply network as the company expands further into Mindanao, where it sees room for additional convenience-store growth.
De Leon said logistics infrastructure was critical to the company’s expansion. “You can have the best location, but you don’t have the supply lines, so that will always result [in] an out-of-stock situation, and will further depress sales,” he explained.
At the end of the first half, Philippine Seven had 4,650 stores after opening 182 new outlets during the period. More than half of the new stores are located in the Visayas and Mindanao.
The company is targeting more than 500 new store openings this year, which would bring its network beyond 5,000 outlets by the year-end.
It has allocated about P5.5 billion for store network expansion, with around 300 additional stores already in various stages of construction.
De Leon said the company had 28 distribution centers across the country to support its expansion, including facilities serving the Visayas and Mindanao.
The expansion comes as 7-Eleven’s same-store sales continued to recover in the second quarter.
Same-store sales grew 7.8 percent during the period, driven by a five-percent increase in customer traffic and a roughly two-percent increase in average basket size.
Metro Manila posted the strongest same-store sales growth at 12 percent, reversing a four percent contraction in the second quarter of 2025. The rest of Luzon posted growth of 7.5 percent, while Visayas and Mindanao reported gains of 4.3 percent and five percent, respectively.
System-wide sales in the second quarter increased 16 percent year on year to P29.7 billion, while operating revenue rose 15.4 percent to P28.6 billion.
Operating income increased 7.6 percent to P1.89 billion, resulting in net income growth of 3.3 percent to P1.22 billion.
For the first half, system-wide sales reached a record P55 billion, up 15.1 percent year on year. Operating revenue rose nearly 15 percent to P53.5 billion, pushing net income up by 3.8 percent to P1.84 billion.
Meanwhile, De Leon said permitting remained a key bottleneck to the company’s store expansion, with outlets requiring approvals from local government units as well as sufficient electrical capacity from distribution utilities.
Despite these constraints, Philippine Seven continues to prioritize expansion in the Visayas and Mindanao, supported by investments in its logistics network and new-store pipeline.
The company’s shares on Friday closed unchanged at P33.00 each.
