Retail Industry Starts '6-Day Workweek'... BGF Retail Executives Working on Saturdays

"Saturday Meeting" Discussing Key Agendas in Progress

BGF Retail, which operates the convenience store CU, has introduced a '6-day workweek' system for its executives. This appears to be a preemptive response to a series of adverse factors such as domestic consumption stagnation and high inflation.

According to the distribution industry on the 18th, BGF Retail's executives began implementing the 6-day workweek system, working on Saturdays starting from the 13th. BGF Retail is the first in the distribution industry to adopt the 6-day workweek. This system is only applied to executives, while regular employees continue with the existing 5-day workweek.

BGF Retail CI. [Image provided by BGF Retail]

It is reported that after coming to work on Saturdays, executives hold a 'Saturday meeting' where they freely discuss key agendas. A BGF Retail official explained, "This is a place where executives discuss major agendas such as strengthening product competitiveness informally, in order to respond to the uncertain distribution environment and rapidly changing trends."

BGF Retail's sudden introduction of the 6-day workweek for executives is interpreted as a preemptive measure in response to the worsening business conditions in the distribution industry. The domestic distribution market has been experiencing prolonged consumption stagnation due to high inflation and high exchange rates. Additionally, competition within the distribution market is intensifying due to the rapid growth of e-commerce companies and the emergence of C-commerce (Chinese e-commerce) platforms such as AliExpress and Temu.

There are forecasts that this 6-day workweek system could expand to other distribution companies as well. The distribution industry, facing stagnation, is tightening its belts one after another. Emart, which posted a deficit last year, conducted its first-ever voluntary retirement program in March, and Emart Everyday also implemented voluntary retirement last month. In the e-commerce sector, 11st, SSG.com, and Lotte ON have also carried out voluntary retirement programs this year.

Earlier, Samsung Electronics recommended a 6-day workweek to executives across all its affiliates in April, citing global business downturns. Since then, companies such as SK Group, NH Nonghyup Bank, and HD Hyundai Oilbank have also implemented a 6-day workweek for executives, spreading this trend across the industry.