Convenience Stores to Tap Chinese Market

Two of Japan’s largest convenience store chains--Seven-Eleven and FamilyMart--plan to bring their 24-hour, one-stop shopping to China as early as next year, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Seven-Eleven Japan Co., which bought the U.S. 7-Eleven franchise in 1991, plans to open 500 stores in China over the next five years, according to the Japanese business daily Nikkei Shimbun. It will open its first store in Beijing next year.

The Seven-Eleven move will be a joint venture with Uni-President Group, a Taiwanese company that operates Seven-Eleven stores in Taiwan. It also is one of the island’s largest investors in mainland China.

FamilyMart Co., Japan’s third-largest chain, intends to open 300 stores in China by 2010, with the first planned for Shanghai. It already has stores in Taiwan and Thailand.

The Nikkei Shimbun said the companies want to tap China’s rapidly expanding market of consumers. The companies’ officials were unavailable for comment Sunday.