CU becomes S. Korea's top convenience store franchise

[Courtesy of BGF Retail]

SEOUL -- CU has dethroned its rival, GS25, to become South Korea's top convenience store chain by increasing the number of outlets with diversified or customer-friendly services. They never close and get rooted deeper into everyday lives as a place to buy groceries, snacks, simple meal packages and non-food products. A COVID-19 pandemic boosted sales of the convenience store industry as people shun crowded shopping malls.

South Korea's convenience store market has been shared by four chains -- CU, GS25, 7-Eleven and Emart 24. Data released by the Financial Supervisory Service, a state watchdog, on March 18 showed that CU had 14,923 stores at the end of 2020, followed by GS25 with 14,688.

Convenience store chains have competitively released new services. CU and GS 25 provide on-foot delivery services for those who live within one kilometer (0.62 miles) radius of a store. By using a smartphone app, customers can receive groceries for a fee of about 3,000 won ($2.6). The delivery service is favored by single households and young parents. Emart24 partnered with a local food delivery company to provide a 24-hour grocery service in March 2021.

GS25 launched a pilot project in 2020 targeting luxury goods lovers who cannot visit offline stores or overseas duty-free shops. The convenience store chain set up a section for luxury goods of premium brands inside a flagship store in Gangnam District, Seoul's heart of finance and fashion trends.

CU targeted homebodies who regularly drink beer by releasing a monthly subscription service. Using a smartphone app, customers can subscribe to a monthly service that provides three cans of beer every month for a fee of 6,900 won. The subscription was designed to target the increased population of casual drinkers.

Park Sae-jin swatchsjp@ajunews.com

CU becomes S. Korea's top convenience store franchise

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