Convenience stores still have room for expansion

Beijing is the second-least-developed city for convenience stores in the country, although this part of the retail sector grew faster than department stores and hypermarkets last year, an industry survey shows.

According to the China Chain Store & Franchise Association, which released its China Urban Convenience Stores Index on Tuesday, the saturation level of convenience stores on the Chinese mainland is still relatively low compared with Japan and Taiwan, where there is one convenience store for every 2,000 residents. In China the average level is around 5,000 people. Dongguan scores the highest level with 2,667 people for every convenience store.

The index, offering an analysys of the development of convenience stores in 26 cities in China based on growth rate, saturation, percentage of operating hours and policy support, noted that convenience stores in Shenzhen, Dongguan in Guangdong province and Taiyuan in Shanxi province are the most advanced, while Shanghai and Guangzhou rank No 6 and No 9.