SPC "Domestic Bakery Market Approximately 7.4 Trillion Won... Estimated Company Market Share in the Low 40%"

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Hyewon] SPC Group has refuted some media reports claiming that its five affiliates dominate the bread manufacturing market with a market share exceeding 80%, stating that "our estimated market share is in the low 40% range."

On the 25th, SPC Group explained through a statement, "Considering that the size of 'individual bakeries,' which cannot be excluded when estimating the domestic bakery market size, was approximately 2.3353 trillion KRW in 2016, the total domestic bakery market size is estimated to be at least 7.4 trillion KRW."

Earlier, some media outlets cited statistics from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (AT) Food Industry Statistical Information, reporting that the total sales of 82 bread manufacturers amounted to 4.512793 trillion KRW, and that the five SPC Group affiliates?Paris Croissant, SPC Samlip, SPL, Shani, and Honam Shani?accounted for 3.765812 trillion KRW in sales, representing an 83.4% market share.

In response, SPC Group stated, "The data on which the article is based only includes companies registered under the bread manufacturing industry classification in AT's industrial classification system," and argued that "this statistic does not accurately reflect the bakery market situation." For example, while Paris Croissant, which owns the bakery Paris Baguette, is included in the bread manufacturing list, CJ Foodville, which owns another bakery brand Tous Les Jours, is not included because it is registered under 'Western-style restaurant business' in the AT industrial classification system.

SPC Group also claimed that if CJ Foodville's sales, which play a significant role in the bakery market, are added to the existing figures, the total market size increases to 5.0514 trillion KRW. CJ Foodville's sales last year were 538.7 billion KRW.

Additionally, SPC Group explained that companies such as Shinsegae Food, which manufacture bread products or operate bakeries, are also omitted from the statistics.