Lawson takes control of some OurHours stores

Japanese convenience store giant Lawson is acquiring nearly 100 branches of Chinese convenience store chain OurHours in East China and the southwestern city of Chongqing, taking its total store count in the country to 2,100, a top company official said on Tuesday.

The move is in line with the company's plans to have 3,000 stores across China by 2020, said Zhang Sheng, vice-president of Lawson (China) Holdings Inc and general manager of Shanghai Lawson Inc.

"The (OurHours) stores are a strong complement to Lawson's expansion initiative in China and fit well with our supply chains, and there are no overlaps with the existing Lawson stores," said Zhang.