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LISTED Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) said it plans to expand its network to 5,000 stores nationwide by next year.

“I think it’s pretty safe to say it should be at least 5,000 (stores) sometime next year,” PSC Chairman Jose Victor P. Paterno said during a media briefing on Thursday.

PSC is the exclusive licensee of the 7-Eleven convenience store brand in the country. The company had 4,130 stores as of end-2024.

“We’ll see how these things go. But yes, we plan to accelerate,” Mr. Paterno said.

PSC Finance Head Lawrence M. De Leon said the company plans to open 450 to 500 stores this year, supported by a P5.5-billion capital expenditure budget, down from the previously allocated P6 billion.

“Our operations and business development teams wanted to prioritize the opening of new stores. They do not want to lose focus on expanding our footprint. That’s why the number of stores programmed for remodeling was reduced for 2025,” he said at the same briefing.

Meanwhile, Mr. Paterno was named chairman of PSC, replacing Jose T. Pardo, who is now chairman emeritus and a member of the advisory board.

Richard Lee was appointed president of PSC, succeeding Mr. Paterno.

Mr. Lee was PSC’s longtime chief of operations. He played a key role in strengthening operational alignment with PSC’s regional partners, particularly 7-Eleven Taiwan, whose technical and strategic cooperation has been instrumental to PSC’s success in the Philippine market.

PSC shares were unchanged at P50 apiece on Thursday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave