CP All Cambodia plans to open at least six 7-Eleven stores this year. AFP
Thai retail conglomerate CP All Pcl will open Cambodia’s first 7-Eleven convenience store in mid-June, Cambodian ambassador to Thailand Ouk Sorphorn told The Post on June 1.
The Bangkok-listed 7-Eleven franchise operator, the retail arm of Charoen Pokphand Group Co Ltd, granted CP All (Cambodia) Co Ltd franchising rights for 30 years in the establishment and operation of 7-Eleven branches, according to Thai local media reports.
And CP All Cambodia plans to open at least six stores this year, the ambassador said, citing CP All officials in Thailand.
Sorphorn said the inaugural branch will be at a PTT petrol station in northern Phnom Penh’s Prek Pnov district, with another scheduled for August in the Borey Peng Huoth gated community off National Road 6A, in Chroy Changvar district’s Prek Leap commune in the capital’s northeast.
At least 50 per cent of the 7-Eleven stores’ stock will comprise products from local small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME), he said, adding that the outlets will provide much-needed employment opportunities for Cambodians who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19.
The company will consider stocking Thailand’s more-than-12,000 7-Eleven branches with in-demand Cambodian products that are verified to meet quality standards, he said.
“This is an opportunity for Cambodian SMEs to partner with CP All, which sits on the world’s largest chain of stores,” he said.
The ambassador noted that CP All’s investment in Cambodia is “in line with the Cambodian Economic Diplomacy Strategy initiated and implemented by Prak Sokhonn, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, with the support of Prime Minister Hun Sen”.
In its filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) on June 25, CP All said it had extended a master agreement to operate 7-Eleven stores at PTT Oil and Retail Business Pcl’s (PPTOR) network of PTT petrol stations for the next 10 years following the existing contract.
At the time operating 12,225 7-Eleven outlets in Thailand, CP All has said it would invest between 11.5 and 12 billion baht ($369 and $385 million) in 2020 to open new stores, renovate existing branches and launch new projects, Thailand’s The Nation reported on November 20.
The ambassador also billed the recently-opened Bangkok-based Cambodia Business Council in Thailand (CBC) as a platform to promote bilateral economic and trade activities between Cambodia and Thailand.
The CBC will serve as an avenue for information and ideas exchange between businesspeople, improve the quality of goods and services on the whole, promote production and supply for the Thai and Cambodian markets, as well as coordinate and negotiate with government institutions in both countries to address the challenges facing the private sector.
