Retail News CRM

Tag: c-store

  • South Korean convenience stores wind back 24-hour service

    South Korean convenience stores wind back 24-hour service

    South Korean convenience-store owners are canceling 24-service as minimum wage rise has eroded profits.

    Last year, president Moon Jae-in launched a campaign to raise the hourly minimum wage by 29 percent over two years. With night-shift employees earning time-and-a-half pay, franchisees have been struggling to pay part-time staff during the small hours.

    Not all stores traded around the clock when Shinsegae group launched the Emart convenience-store chan in 2014. Three Korean c-store giants, GS Retail, BGF Retail and Lotte Group, now allow its franchisees to close stores at night if the outlets lose money overnight for three months.

    In a market with the highest rate of c-stores per capita, South Korean convenience-store owners are shifting their focus to automated, unmanned stores. Emart is trialing a cashier-free store in Seoul with more than 30 cameras installed. Payments are made with credit card information stored in advance. Meanwhile, Lotte operates 17 unmanned outlets where products are scanned and identified by its shapes.

    Last year, many 7-Eleven and Familymart stores in Japan had to overturn its 24-hour operations as they were suffering from the labor shortage.

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  • South Korea c-store launches own parcel service

    South Korea c-store launches own parcel service

    South Korean convenience store chain CU has launched BGF Post, a c-store-specific parcel delivery service unit. A Korean Economic Daily article reported that BGF Post has been set up to distinguish CU’s parcel service from other convenience store chains’.

    CU previously operated CVS Net, a joint parcel service with GS25 convenience stores. As it independently operates the new subsidiary, GS25 plans to run CVS Net on its own, says the report.

    The company will also explore new business opportunities through BGF Post amid increasing number of convenience store parcel delivery users.

    CU is a subsidiary of BGF Retail and has more than 8,000 convenience stores in the country.

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  • Korean c-store swaps old for new

    Korean c-store swaps old for new

    A convenience store chain in Korea plans to offer affordable smartphone battery replacements instead of time-consuming charging services.

    BGF Retail, the company behind the CU convenience store chain, announced on April 14 that it would begin the battery replacement service in May. The service offers fully charged smartphone batteries to smartphone users in exchange for their discharged ones, after verifying their authenticity.

    Korean c-stores including CU currently offer battery-charging services, which can take up to 40 minutes. By introducing the replacement service, customers can save time while paying the same 3000 won (US$2.74) fee.

    The service will be available for all battery-replaceable smartphone models, and CU will continually add batteries for new models.

    However, the service is not available at all CU convenience stores, only shops that have chosen to participate in the program. CU stores offering the service can be found using the new “Full-charge” smartphone application.

    CU explained that the service was devised to solve the issue of rapidly depleted smartphone batteries, leveraging the accessibility of convenience stores.

    An official at BGF Retail said that as more people use smartphones, there is much anxiety about battery life. “By offering the service, we are presenting a convenient option to customers as they can replace the worn-out smartphone batteries like they are purchasing drinks in our stores.”

    Meanwhile, CU convenience stores are now transforming from simple stores selling items such as snacks, drinks and other daily necessities to “space” providers with lockers, meeting rooms and even concert halls.

    CU’s Itaewon Freedom offers a private locker service that was launched in December of last year, and some stores in university areas have started to offer meeting rooms equipped with tables, whiteboards, and HD TVs for those who seek spaces suitable for small-sized meetings.

    In Daehangno, where many performers and audiences gather together, the CU Marronnier Park store is equipped with a small-sized stage for amateur musicians, and even supplies sound and lighting equipment. It was developed to offer customers the pleasure of enjoying cultural performances highlighting the regional characteristics of the area.