[My Person] "Japan Follows Korean Convenience Stores"... A Promoter Who Loved Convenience Stores

⑤Author Yu Cheol-hyun of 'Eojjeoda Convenience Store'
Senior PR Team Member at BGF Retail and Writer
12 Years of Experience in the Convenience Store Industry
Publishes Convenience Store Essays Based on Experience

"Japan, once the strongest in convenience stores, is now learning from Korean convenience stores. Even IT technologies for store management applications are benchmarked from Korea by Japan. The product competitiveness and system expertise of Korean convenience stores are recognized overseas."

Yoo Cheol-hyun, Senior Manager of the Public Relations Team at BGF Retail.
[Photo by Manager Yoo]

On the 30th, at the BGF Retail headquarters in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Yu Cheol-hyun, senior public relations officer, said, "The export business of Korean convenience store brands is not only significant as simple growth but also plays a role in private diplomacy because it helps introduce many unique Korean foods and various products to the people of those countries, which makes me proud."

Since 2012, Yu, who has been in charge of media relations at BGF Retail's PR team and has experienced major internal matters such as company name changes, brand transitions, stock listings, holding company transitions, and overseas business expansion, recently published an essay titled "Accidentally Convenience Store" based on his experiences.

BGF Retail, which operates CU, the number one convenience store chain in Korea by number of stores, recently surpassed 500 global stores, securing the top spot in the industry. By country, Mongolia has the most with about 400 stores, followed by Malaysia with about 140, and Kazakhstan with 3. Yu said, "In Mongolia, everything sells well from tteokbokki to hot dogs, toast, ramen snacks, and Korean-style bread," adding, "Internally, we have a success formula that products that hit big in Korea also inevitably become hits in Mongolia, which is very encouraging."

Yonsei Milk Cream Bread's Mongolian Market Entry Social Networking Service (SNS) Promotion Photo. [Photo by BGF Retail]

The most recent blockbuster product is the "Yonsei Milk Cream Bread." It is a mega-hit that surpassed 50 million units sold in two years since its release in January 2022 in Korea. As soon as it was exported to Mongolia, it sold like hotcakes, with about 1,500 units sold within three days of its local launch.

Yu also pays attention to the fact that the main consumer base of convenience stores both domestically and internationally is young consumers in their teens to thirties. He said, "For young people in their teens and twenties in Malaysia, traveling to Korea is one of their 'bucket list' items. In the past, foreign tourists mostly came in groups and visited department stores or duty-free shops a lot, but nowadays, with more individual visits, there has been an increase in individual consumption such as freely stopping by convenience stores alone to buy cost-effective products."

In line with the age group of these major domestic and international consumers, the average age of employees is also quite young. According to Yu, the current average age of all BGF Retail employees is about 34 to 35 years old. Yu said, "I feel that in each department, ideas are very creative and open to each other," adding, "Also, decision-making is very fast." Thanks to this internal atmosphere, it is much easier to approach convenience store consumers domestically and internationally, who are mainly of a similar age group, according to Yu.

The model is introducing the Super Large King Triangle Kimbap recently launched by CU.
[Photo by BGF Retail]

Yu analyzed, "For example, large-capacity and big-size products like Super Large King triangular kimbap or Giant hot dogs have an intuitive size on the surface, so they have a visual effect that immediately catches consumers' eyes when they enter the store, and they also have an element of fun," adding, "Convenience stores have now become playgrounds for the MZ generation to the extent that consumers even go around multiple stores to find these hard-to-get big-size products, like completing a challenge."

Regarding concerns inside and outside the industry that the domestic convenience store market is saturated, he said, "This has been a steady topic raised for the past 10 years." He emphasized, "Securing many stores to increase customer accessibility is no longer everything. Now, it's a battle of content." He added, "Even if there is a competitor's convenience store within just 30 meters, the competition is about which store gets limited edition products, which store owner quickly and nimbly obtains rare products and puts them on the shelves."