Lawson Inc. plans to acquire local retail chains to increase its stores in China by around 15-fold to 5,000 by 2015, President Takeshi Niinami said in a recent interview.
"Retail chains with around 1,000 stores have emerged in cities such as Beijing," Niinami said of its acquisition target.
The Lawson plan comes at a time when Japanese convenience store chains are racing to expand their networks in China. FamilyMart Co. has set a Chinese network expansion target similar to Lawson's.
Lawson has so far opened around 340 convenience stores in Shanghai, Chongqing and Dalian.
Niinami also said Lawson is aiming to become next year the first major Japanese retailer to expand into India.
Although owners of small family-run shops in India are opposing the removal of restrictions on foreign investment, Niinami indicated that Lawson plans to pursue the expansion.
"We would like to persuade them (to accept the removal of restrictions) by explaining that Lawson will add such shops into our franchise."
He expressed hopes of cooperating with farmers in Japan to procure quality fresh food, including vegetables and rice.
"We can't depend on imported vegetables for freshness," Niinami said. "We would like to cooperate with farmers to enhance our procurement of safe, quality vegetables free of price fluctuations."
