"Enjoy Flower Viewing, the Convenience Store on Wheels Comes to You"… Sales Soar 768%

Operated in Areas Lacking Convenience Facilities and at Festival Sites
Mobile Convenience Store Achieves 70% Increase in Daily Sales Last Year
Sales Surge 768% Compared to Previous Day at Last Week's Cherry Blossom Festival

BGF Retail announced on the 16th that CU's mobile convenience store, operated by the convenience store chain CU, achieved high sales at a spring festival site.

Introduced in 2009 as the industry's first, CU's mobile convenience store is a 7-meter-long convenience store specially modified from a 3.5-ton cargo truck. It can move directly according to customer demand, serving as the spearhead of the 'on-demand' strategy that instantly sells products and services at the desired time and place for consumers.

CU mobile convenience store at the Let's Run Park Cherry Blossom Festival site in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi-do. (Photo by BGF Retail)

So far, the mobile convenience store has mainly operated in areas lacking convenience facilities and at university festivals. Based on data accumulated over several years, customized product assortments reflecting weather, customer characteristics of festivals, and the needs of organizers have helped enhance consumer convenience and expand its scope of use. In fact, the number of operations of this convenience store increased about fourfold from 11 cases in November 2022, right after the COVID-19 pandemic, to around 40 cases last year. Daily sales increased by 70% compared to the previous year throughout last year.

In line with this trend, BGF Retail added "other non-store retail business" to the business objectives in its articles of incorporation at last year's shareholders' meeting. This year, the company plans to significantly expand new convenience store model businesses such as mobile convenience stores to improve customer convenience and increase store profitability.

Last week, CU opened a mobile convenience store at the Gwacheon Race Park in Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, a popular spot for spring outings during the cherry blossom season. As a result, sales surged by 768% in just one day on the 11th compared to the previous day. Especially, nearly 500 customers gathered between 7 and 8 p.m. as many visitors came to enjoy flower viewing after work.

The product category with the highest sales during the event was beverages such as bottled water, accounting for about 41% of total sales. Snack sales also showed a high proportion at 18%. With a significant increase in instant ramen demand, noodles recorded 16%, followed by alcoholic beverages at 14%. Non-food items necessary for outdoor activities, such as tissues, mats, and hygiene products, accounted for about 8%, roughly twice as high as in regular stores. Among convenience foods, sales of kimbap, triangular kimbap, and sandwiches, which are easy to eat instead of lunch boxes, were relatively high.

CU's mobile convenience store also contributes to expanding the public role of convenience stores beyond outdoor events. Through 'BGF Bridge,' which conducts emergency relief activities during disasters, last month it provided emergency relief supplies such as bottled water, beverages, and ramen to disaster victims and firefighters and volunteers involved in recovery efforts after a large-scale wildfire. Additionally, it has carried out the 'Mobile Market in Front of My House' project to assist local purchase refugees who face difficulties buying food due to reduced convenience facilities.

Lee Jong-dae, head of BGF Retail's Sales Planning Team, said, "We are responding to various customer demands by utilizing mobile convenience stores that can be dispatched immediately whenever and wherever a convenience store is needed." He added, "We will develop the mobile convenience store as a next-generation convenience store model by incorporating cutting-edge retail technology in the future and will continue to enhance operational efficiency and profitability."