GS25 Opens Complex Store Selling Golf Equipment

Golf equipment complex store GS25 Paju Buheung branch store view. (Photo by GS Retail)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] GS Retail has opened a complex store selling golf equipment at its convenience store GS25.

GS25, operated by GS Retail, partnered with ‘Volvik’ on the 20th to launch a complex store selling about 10 types and 250 items of golf-related products, including golf balls, golf apparel, and golf caddy bags.

The GS25 Paju Buheung branch, opened as a golf complex store, is located near Golf Pavilion CC and Seowon Hills CC in Paju. GS Retail expects that operating the store 24 hours will provide shopping enjoyment to customers visiting the golf courses and purchasing related products, and will also generate new customers and additional revenue for franchise owners.

In May, GS Retail signed a business agreement with Volvik to foster golf equipment as a new growth category. Since the first display in May, GS25’s approximately 1,200 convenience stores and about 50 GS THE FRESH supermarkets have been operating dedicated golf product displays featuring colored balls, golf gloves, and lignum tees.

The results so far are considered successful. Due to the increase in new golf players and other factors, sales of golf equipment have grown more than 146 times compared to May when the first golf display was introduced. Among golf products, golf ball sales account for 90% of total sales, and GS25 convenience stores, which customers can easily visit, are establishing themselves as a golf equipment purchasing platform.

By the end of November, additional complex stores will open at GS25 Gangseo LG Scions branch located in the office district (Magok area) and GS THE FRESH Gimpo Sau branch located in a station area and densely populated residential area. By 2021, GS Retail plans to open 20 complex stores and expand golf equipment displays to about 1,900 GS25 stores and 100 GS THE FRESH stores.

Huh Yeol, Assistant Manager of GS Retail’s Life Living Team, said, “We are expanding golf equipment displays in line with the continuously growing golf population and have opened the industry’s first golf equipment complex convenience store to provide more convenient and diverse product purchases. We will strive to offer customers both the fun and convenience of shopping by introducing more differentiated services to GS25, which is establishing itself as a life platform.”