File photo
MANILA – Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC), the exclusive licensor of 7-Eleven in the country, is ramping up a vaccination program for its employees as it pursues expansion plans in optimism about recovery amid the pandemic.
PSC president and chief executive officer Victor Paterno said they expect the arrival of 20,000 doses of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine, adding that most of its employees have already been inoculated.
“We will be donating the excess and above our excess (is) our donation to the government of 50 percent but (it) depends on how many (doses have been) taken up,” he said in a virtual press briefing Thursday.
Paterno said they are looking forward to guidelines for vaccinated employees from the government.
“We would like to prepare the workforce for the office once everybody has the chance to be vaccinated,” he added.
PSC head of finance Lawrence de Leon said the company has procured 80,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccines, half of which will be donated to the government while the remaining doses have been allocated for its employees.
Apart from the vaccination program for its employees, the company also allotted funds for its Pandemic Support Program, which allowed franchisees to continue operations and keep their staff employed.
In addition, PSC aggressively renegotiated existing rents to minimize the impact of declining customer visits.
Meanwhile, de Leon said the company targets to spend PHP1 billion to support the opening of at least 200 new stores this year after expansion plans tempered amid the pandemic.
PSC managed to open 174 new stores in 2020, bringing its December 2020 total to 2,987. The 174 new stores last year represented a 50-percent drop in new store openings compared with pre-pandemic 2019 numbers.
Paterno said it will put up more stores in residential areas where rents are cheap.
“Beyond Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon), we still continue to expand in the Visayas and Mindanao. This is our priority so we are opening more stores in those areas,” he added.
In February this year, Seven Bank of Japan rolled out recycling automated teller machines (ATMs) in 7-Eleven Philippines stores.
Currently, there are over 400 ATMs in Metro Manila and Cavite. By year-end, PSC plans to have 1,200 ATMs installed in more areas nationwide. (PNA)
