BGF Retail
Overview
BGF Retail is a leading convenience store franchise company in South Korea, operating convenience stores nationwide under the brand 'CU.' Starting out as FamilyMart in 1990 and fully rebranding to CU in 2012, it has established itself as one of the two major players that split the domestic convenience store market alongside GS25. As a core affiliate of BGF Group and a company listed on the KOSPI, it is expanding its business scope beyond its core convenience store operations into logistics, food manufacturing, real estate development, and more.
Details
Corporate History and Brand Evolution
The roots of BGF Retail trace back to Bokwang FamilyMart Co., Ltd. (주)보광훼미리마트, founded in 1990. Based on a license from Japan's FamilyMart, it began its convenience store business in Korea under the 'FamilyMart' signboard, and achieved rapid store expansion in the 2000s. In 2012, it terminated its license agreement with Japan's FamilyMart and carried out a rebranding to its independent brand 'CU.' 'CU' is short for 'Convenience Store for You,' and it served as an occasion to completely overhaul products, services, and store image, going beyond a simple name change. In 2017, it reorganized into a holding company structure, changed its name to BGF Retail, which handles the convenience store business under BGF Group Co., Ltd., and listed on the KOSPI in the same year.
Business Structure and Revenue Model
BGF Retail's main sources of revenue are the franchise fees it receives from franchise store owners and the margins on product supply. In this structure, the headquarters purchases products and supplies them to franchise stores and distributes a certain percentage of fees according to sales performance, so store expansion leads directly to sales growth. To improve logistics efficiency, it has established logistics centers nationwide and built a system that delivers ambient, refrigerated, and frozen products in an integrated manner, giving it strengths in inventory turnover and freshness management. Its representative private brand (PB) products include 'HEYROO (헤이루),' 'Baek Jong-won Dosirak (백종원 도시락),' and the 'CU Luxury Series (CU 명품 시리즈),' and PB products, with their high margins, are regarded as a key pillar for improving profitability.
Store Network and Differentiation Strategy
As of the mid-2020s, CU operates more than 18,000 stores, having grown into one of the largest convenience store chains in Korea. Its differentiation strategies include △ collaboration products with celebrities and characters △ lifestyle convenience services such as 'convenience store delivery (편의점 택배)' △ seasonal limited-edition product launches △ and the introduction of unmanned payment systems. In particular, using faster product turnover and speed in reflecting trends compared with large retailers as its weapon, it continues to introduce unique products targeting the MZ generation, thereby raising brand loyalty.
Latest Trends
In 2024–2025, BGF Retail faced structural challenges such as the saturation of the domestic convenience store market and slowing store count growth. Accordingly, there is a clear trend of shifting strategy toward sales growth at existing stores (same-store growth rate) and profitability-centered management. Specifically, it is pursuing △ strengthening high-margin fresh food and deli categories △ expanding non-product services such as finance, telecommunications, and travel △ reducing waste rates through AI-based demand forecasting and automated ordering △ and expanding unmanned and hybrid stores. It is also accelerating its efforts to pioneer overseas markets, entering Mongolia, Malaysia, and other countries in the form of master franchises, and is seeking a transition into a global convenience store operator. In addition, it is strengthening ESG management, including the introduction of eco-friendly packaging materials and the reduction of food waste, and while expanding support policies for franchise store owners in response to rising labor costs, it is investing in upgrading unmanned store technology.
Related Topics
- [[CU]]
- [[Convenience store]]
- [[GS25]]
- [[BGF Group]]
- [[Franchise]]
- [[Distribution industry]]