New franchise model expected to boost expansion of Mini Big C
BIG C Supercenter is working to expand its Mini Big C branches this year by inviting franchises for the first time.
The first Mini Big C franchise is The Station branch, in Muang district, Samut Sakhon. The 24-hour outlet opened last Sunday.
The parent company sees Mini Big C as the model of one-stop service that caters to modern consumer behaviour. These convenience stores focus on housekeepers, labourers, and grass-roots people interested in buying a variety of products at low cost.
Big C aims to open 75 new Mini Big C convenience stores this year, of which 50 will be franchised and the rest company-owned. However, the company expects franchise outlets to represent half of its Mini Big C stores within three years.
In the past, they were all owned by Big C Supercenter.
At present, the company has 125 hypermarkets (Big C Supercenter, Big C Extra, and Big C Jumbo), 55 Big C Market branches, 394 Mini Big C branches, and 146 Pure branches.
Getting into a franchise system for Mini Big C convenience stores will be in line with the company’s strategy to accelerate the expansion of its small-scale stores and to reach economy of scale, so that they will be able to utilise the company’s logistics network and bargaining power with suppliers.
Big C hopes the move will allow it to be more competitive with its major rivals in the convenience-store segment, including 7-Eleven, Family Mart and Lawson.
Currently, franchisees are required to invest about Bt3.75 million to open a Mini Big C with retail space of 100-120 square metres and offering more than 5,000 items for sale. However, the company will launch two new types of Mini Big C in smaller store formats that will require less investment from franchisees, at around Bt1 million and Bt2 million respectively.
The new smaller formats will be launched next quarter.
The return on investment will be three to five years depending on location. The franchise contract will be for around nine years.
Warunee Kitjaroenpoonsin, director for corporate affairs, marketing and communications, said that as consumers had been making more demands, supply chains had been expanded. While responding to these consumer demands, Big C wants to offer opportunities for people to own a business within a stable organisation through a Mini Big C franchise.
Big C will be a consultant for these investors and promises benefits not available from other convenience-store chains.
Compared with Big C hypermarkets, Mini Big C has different promotions, which the company sees as one of its selling points.
The company says that while it wants to open more Mini Big C branches and has adopted the |franchise model to that end, it has no intention of compromising quality.
