BGF Retail news

CU convenience chain is preparing to accept cryptocurrency payments in South Korea. Offering shoppers another payment method Earlier This week, BGF Retail, parent firm of CU, partnered with Chai to allow buyers to pay by presenting a barcode from the Chai mobile app. CU will use the Chai payment system to trade in Terra, a won-backed stablecoin. There are more than 13,000 CU outlets acro...

South Korea’s BGF Retail Co., the operator of convenience store chain CU, will open its first outlet in Vietnam by June 2020. Second offshore operations after Mongolia The retailer has signed a franchise agreement with a Vietnam-based convenience store operator backed by local companies. BGF Retail will share its brand and knowledge in operations, while the Vietnamese partner will be respon...

South Korea’s FTC (Fair Trade Commission) approved a set of voluntary rules agreed by convenience store operators to better protect struggling franchisees. Minimum distance between stores Five members of the Korea Association of Convenience Store Industry, CU, GS25, 7-ELEVEN, MINISTOP, C-SPACE and Emart24, came up with a voluntary agreement to curb excessive competition. A key centerpiec...

South Korean convenience chains CU and GS25, operated by BGF Retail and GS Retail respectively, have seen a recovery in their results for the first half. BGF Retail's sales up 12.3% CU convenience chain recorded a net profit of KRW45.3bn (US$40.2m) from April to June, an increase of 105% from the first quarter of this year. Sales increased 12.3% to KRW1,478.5bn (US$1.3bn) compared with the ...

BGF Retail, operator of South Korean c-store chain CU, will acquire a stake in online grocery platform Hello Nature. The acquisition... BGF is investing KRW30bn (US$28m) to acquire 50.1% stake in Hello Nature. The retailer will operate Hello Nature as a joint venture with SK Planet, who bought the company in 2016. Founded in 2012, Hello Nature is a premium online grocery delivery service of...

Leading South Korean convenience store operator, CU, is set to enter Mongolia this year. New markets via franchisees BGF Retail has signed a deal with local Mongolian retailer, Central Express, which will operate CU outlets in Mongolia. The first CU store will open in in Ulaanbaatar this year. With a young population, Mongolia offers a great opportunity for convenience store operators to th...

South Korean retailer, BGF Retail, operates the largest convenience chain in the country. We review its 2017 results and latest developments for the CU banner. Q3 results a clearer indication of CU's performance In the first nine months last year, BGF Retail posted a 13% increase in operating revenue to KRW4.22 tn, with operating profit rising 24.3% to KRW201 bn. Key categories of growth, e...

Many of the leading South Korean retailers are turning to ASEAN countries for expansion. We review the latest developments for Korea's five leading retailers.  THAAD may have long-lasting impact on Korean businesses Relations between South Korea and China soured when a former Lotte golf course was used as the base for US THAAD missile-defence system earlier this year. As the saga unrivalled...

Convenience stores in South Korea are often first to display new and innovative store concepts seen across the world. Shinsegae’s latest announcement heats-up competition in the country’s convenience channel, currently dominated by CU, GS25 and 7-Eleven. Shinsegae rebranding their convenience stores… In 2014, Shinsegae acquired ‘With Me’, a convenience chain network of just over 500 stores....

South Korea’s leading convenience store chain CU has launched its own parcel delivery service. Providing value added service to c-store shoppers CU, a subsidiary of BGF Retail, has launched BGF Post, a c-store-specific parcel delivery service unit throughout its network. CU previously operated CVS Net, a joint parcel service with another c-store chain GS25 convenience stores. As CU independ...