Lawson Philippines will launch later this month with the first of 500 stores planned in a partnership with local retailer Puregold Price Club.

Puregold will own 70 per cent of the joint venture partnership with the Japanese convenience store retailer, which will hold the remaining 30 per cent.

The company has yet to reveal the location of the first store, but Investor Relations Officer John T. Hao confirmed in an interview with Business World Online that construction is underway on the first five stores.

The supermarket company says it has allocated P500 million on rolling out the first 50 to 100 Lawson stores this year.

The Lawson Philippines network will initially be focused on metro Manila, mostly in the university belt and business districts.