"Creating Jobs for Seniors"... BGF Retail Opens Senior Convenience Stores

Reduced Start-up Costs and Practical Support for Store Operations

BGF Retail, the operator of CU, announced on November 12 that it held an opening ceremony for a senior convenience store (Ieum Store) in collaboration with the Korea Senior Workforce Development Institute and the Korea Real Estate Board to help create jobs and promote social participation among the elderly generation.

The opening ceremony took place the previous afternoon in front of the CU Dairo Woon Iksan City Hall branch on the 4th floor of the main building of Iksan City Hall in Jeollabuk-do. The event was attended by Jang Sungkwan, Head of District 6 at BGF Retail, Jeong Heonyul, Mayor of Iksan, Kim Migon, President of the Korea Senior Workforce Development Institute, and Kim Chanyong, Head of Honam Regional Headquarters at the Korea Real Estate Board.

Jang Sungkwan, Head of District 6 at BGF Retail (third from left), Jeong Heonyul, Mayor of Iksan (fifth from left), Kim Migon, President of the Korea Senior Human Resources Development Institute (fourth from left), and Kim Chanyong, Head of Honam Region at Korea Real Estate Board (sixth from left), along with other staff members, are taking a commemorative photo at the opening ceremony. Provided by BGF Retail.

The CU Dairo Woon Iksan City Hall branch is one of the senior convenience stores opened through the "Intergenerational Happiness Senior Job Ieum Store Business Agreement," which was signed between BGF Retail and the Korea Senior Workforce Development Institute on April 4.

Senior convenience stores provide jobs and support social connections for the elderly generation in South Korea, which has entered a super-aged society. At these stores, senior employees handle a variety of work related to store operations, such as ordering, product display, and customer service, enabling them to earn stable income.

A total of five senior convenience stores have started operating this time. Through a public project by the Korea Senior Workforce Development Institute, senior clubs in five regions (Seoul, Gyeonggi, Chungnam, Jeonbuk, and Busan) were selected to operate each store.

The Korea Real Estate Board raises donations to provide start-up support funds to the senior clubs. BGF Retail reduces the initial start-up costs by waiving franchise and investment deposit fees, and provides practical support for store operations by increasing the number of participants in franchisee training programs.

Meanwhile, BGF Retail is also expanding convenience stores for various vulnerable groups beyond senior convenience stores. These include the "CU Saessak Store," the first initiative in the convenience store industry to support the self-reliance and independence of socioeconomically vulnerable groups, and the "Convenience Store for the Disabled," which is being promoted in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Disabled People’s Development Institute to expand social participation for people with severe disabilities.

Choi Mingun, Head of the ESG Team at BGF Retail, stated, "CU’s senior convenience stores (Ieum Stores) serve as spaces where the elderly can reconnect with society and regain vitality in their daily lives," adding, "BGF Retail will continue to expand public-interest convenience store models that connect various generations and social groups, contributing to the creation of a society where everyone can work and grow together."