PCSC Invests in LOPIA; Px Mart's Lin Says He Would Have Considered Investing

(CNA, Taipei, 21st, by reporter Ho Hsiu-ling) President Chain Store Corp.'s recent announcement of its investment in Japanese supermarket LOPIA has drawn market attention. Px Mart Chairman Lin Min-hsiung frankly stated that he was quite surprised by this, as there had been no market rumors, and he only learned about it from the news. However, he believes it will not affect Px Mart's operations, saying, "Everyone does their own thing." But he also revealed that if LOPIA had approached Px Mart, "we would not rule out evaluating (an investment)." The Px Mart Shen-Mei's Foundation for Culture and Arts, which operates the Yilan Traditional Arts Center, held a press conference today to mark its 10th year, where Lin attended and was interviewed by the media. Regarding PCSC's investment in LOPIA and rumors that Uni-President intends to spend NT$10 billion to acquire KFC and Pizza Hut, Lin stated that the LOPIA investment case would not impact Px Mart's operations. However, he admitted that if the two parties had been in contact, he would not have ruled out evaluating an investment, mainly considering that Px Mart's current layout lacks a high-end supermarket segment. However, if it were a restaurant business, it would not be within the scope of evaluation. Speaking on M&A ideas, Lin said that most of the assessable supermarket targets in the market are relatively small. For example, the local Yilan supermarket Hiyallan had approached Px Mart, but the acquisition did not materialize. Currently, Px Mart is focusing on opening its own stores. He pointed out that Px Mart currently has over a thousand stores across Taiwan, with only over 100 acquired through mergers, while the rest were self-developed, which can be described as "built one step at a time." He also stated that there is no ceiling on the number of stores for Px Mart; they will open stores wherever there is a need. This year, a net increase of 40 to 50 stores is expected, with the total number in Taiwan potentially reaching nearly 1,300 by the end of the year. Px Mart General Manager Tsai Tu-chang added that they hope to increase the scale of their stores in the future, planning to open large complex stores of about 500 to 600 pings (approx. 1653-1983 sq. meters). Combined with the "Da-Chuan-Lian" (large Px Mart) format, richer business content is expected. He emphasized, "If there's a chance to open big, we won't open small." Regarding whether the upcoming elections in the second half of the year will affect consumer sentiment, Lin said, "Px Mart doesn't have high or low seasons; after all, people always have to buy food." However, as Px Mart opens more stores, the growth rate will indeed slow slightly to low single digits. Additionally, Px Mart has been operating the Traditional Arts Center for 10 years. Lin admitted that because it is a public welfare undertaking, it loses money every year, but they will definitely continue to operate it. Through performances, crafts, festivals, and the restoration of traditional buildings and sustainable tourism, the cumulative number of visitors has reached nearly 9 million. (Editor: Pan Yi-ching)