FamilyMart Co., the third-largest convenience store chain operator, will close some 500 unprofitable shops during fiscal 2001, the company announced Monday.
During the same period, the company, which operates about 5,200 stores nationwide, plans to open 450 new stores.
FamilyMart said that total store sales for its 2000 business year, which ends Feb. 28, will fall to 840 billion yen from an earlier projected 857.8 billion yen.