SEOUL, Feb. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean convenience stores are branching out into new fields as sales of cosmetics and pet products continue to increase. Nearly 95 percent of the products sold at convenience stores are food and beverages, according to industry sources, but an increasing number of convenience store chains are expanding their offerings [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — The number of new convenience stores in South Korea dropped last month, ostensibly due to this year’s minimum wage hike. According to industry sources, a total of 83 stores were added by the three major convenience store chains CU, GS25, and 7-Eleven in December – 44, 25, and 14, respectively. [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean companies are pushing to expand their presence in the Middle Eastern market after suffering backlash from a diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing over a U.S. missile defense system here, industry watchers said Friday. Earlier in the day, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) [...]
SEOUL, Nov. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — BGF Retail Co., the operator of South Korea’s largest convenience store chain CU, said Tuesday it has opened a store in Iran, marking the first overseas expansion for a local convenience store operator. The launch of the store in Tehran came about four months after the company signed an [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 14 (Korea Bizwire) – A collective of convenience store owners will file a class action lawsuit against the government to demand the repayment of five years’ worth of credit card fees on cigarettes and plastic bag sales. The collective’s leader, Kye Sang Hyuk, shared with media outlets on September 14 that preliminary discussions [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — A Bank of Korea proposal on how to reduce the amount of pocket change Koreans carry around has proven to be a success among the selected stores the new service is being tested at. The bank has made it possible for shoppers at three major convenience store chains and [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — The European Union’s recent acknowledgement that large-scale shipments of eggs from Belgium and the Netherlands may have been contaminated by a pesticide has stores and markets rethinking the sales value of Belgian waffles. The pesticide, Fipronil, is believed to be hazardous to humans. So far, Germany, England, Sweden, Switzerland [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 9 (Korea Bizwire) — Despite stiff competition and declining profits, more and more convenience stores in South Korea are opening, with the number of convenience stores per head surpassing that of Japan, a country thought to be the Asian capital of the industry. According to industry sources on Tuesday, there were an estimated 34,376 [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — BGF Retail Co., the operator of South Korea’s largest convenience store chain CU, said Friday it signed a franchise deal with an Iranian company marking the first overseas expansion for a convenience store operator. Under the agreement, home appliances firm Entekhab Investment Development Group will take charge of investment [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — As the number of single-person households continues to grow in South Korea, sales growth of frozen food at major convenience stores has significantly increased over the past six months, compared to average sales from 2012 to 2016. Among the frozen food items, frozen pizza was most popular, with sales [...]