Philippine FamilyMart CVS, Inc., was founded in November 2012, and we opened our fi rst store in the Philippines in April 2013, having signed a shareholders agreement with SIAL CVS RETAILERS, INC., a joint venture between Ayala Land, Inc., part of the Ayala Group, one of the country's largest business groups, and Stores Specialists, Inc., part of the Rustan Group, one of the largest retailing groups.

By leveraging a Japanese-style product lineup including ready-to-eat items, we aim to differentiate ourselves from competitors that entered the market before us, aggressively open stores centered on the capital, Manila, and rapidly establish our brand in the Philippines.