BGF Retail and Naver Join Forces to Strengthen O2O Platform Business

Business Partnership for Joint Promotion of O2O Platform
Collaboration on O2O Services Linking Online and Offline... Implementing Next-Generation Convenience Stores
Enhancing Customer Convenience, CU Competitiveness, and Coexistence with Small Business Owners

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] CU is joining forces with Naver.

BGF Retail, which operates CU, announced on the 21st that it has signed a business agreement with Naver to jointly promote an online-to-offline (O2O) platform business.

The signing ceremony was attended by BGF Retail CEO Lee Geon-jun and Innovation Division Head Song Ji-taek, as well as Naver CEO Han Seong-suk and COO Choi In-hyuk, among other company officials, and the memorandum of understanding was signed in a non-face-to-face manner using Naver Works.

Through this agreement, BGF Retail and Naver plan to carry out new O2O-centered businesses based on each company's online and offline platforms and core competencies. The goal is to provide customers with new shopping experiences and convenience, thereby further solidifying each company's competitive advantage in the future.

BGF Retail has the largest offline store network in Korea, including more than 15,000 CU stores nationwide, along with an integrated logistics network. Naver is the largest online platform based on Korea's top search engine and possesses various technologies and business models including artificial intelligence (AI), finance, and business-to-business (B2B) services.

Starting with this agreement, the two companies plan to build a mid- to long-term cooperative relationship focusing on four areas: ▲collaborative O2O services linking online and offline platforms in diverse and experimental ways ▲on-site introduction of digital technologies such as Naver Pay, Cloud, and AI ▲building next-generation convenience stores based on technology ▲developing win-win models for franchise stores.

They plan to actively introduce various new services to expand product sales channels and attract new customers by linking online and offline channels. By combining CU's hybrid convenience store operation experience with Naver's IT solutions, they will also implement a next-generation convenience store model.

BGF Retail aims to enhance customer convenience and strengthen CU's competitiveness through this initiative. Naver also places significance on creating social value by promoting coexistence with small business owners through platform partnerships.

BGF Retail and Naver have maintained a strategic partnership even before this business agreement. Currently, a smart ordering service that allows CU delivery service through Naver is operating in more than 5,000 stores nationwide. Recently, the Naver-CU parcel reservation service was also launched.

BGF Retail CEO Lee Geon-jun said, "In the new normal era, the industry's top-level competitiveness possessed by both companies will organically combine to create various synergies that fit the times," adding, "Going forward, CU will lead convenience store innovation together with Naver, providing optimal convenience to customers and supporting franchise store growth."

Naver CEO Han Seong-suk stated, "As customer experiences online and offline converge in a rapidly changing business environment, we will conduct various experiments with BGF Retail to create new value."