This photo provided by BGF Retail Co. on April 21, 2022, shows BGF CEO Lee Keon-jun (L) posing with Central Express CEO Ganbold Chinzorig during the opening ceremony of CU’s 200th outlet in Mongolia.
SEOUL, April 21 (Korea Bizwire) — CU, South Korea’s top convenience store chain, said Thursday it has opened its 200th outlet in Mongolia as part of the company’s push to expand its presence in the landlocked East Asian country.
The launch came four years after CU made forays into the Mongolian market through a franchise deal with local retailer Central Express.
CU has been adding an average 5.6 stores per month there since the convenience store chain opened its first outlet in Ulaanbaatar in August 2018.
Mongolia is seen as a promising market for South Korean convenience store operators, with the number of people aged under 35 taking up more than 60 percent of the total population.
CU also said it has recently acquired Mongolian outlets of U.S. convenience store chain Circle K, raising its Mongolian market share to over 70 percent by store numbers.
Circle K entered the Mongolian market two months before CU, but it decided to pull out of the country in March.
“CU has succeeded in taking root quickly in the Mongolian market by carrying ready-to-eat items, developing local dishes into convenience store foods and offering a delivery service to cope with the coronavirus pandemic,” the company said.
CU said it will introduce a BGF global IT system in September and seek to open its 300th store by the first half of next year. BGF Retail Co. is the operator of CU.
South Korea’s convenience store chain operators have been setting their sights on the overseas market as the domestic market has become increasingly saturated.
(Yonhap)
