GS25, the convenience store chain operated by GS Retail (007070), said on the 3rd that its "fresh-focused stores," which feature an expanded selection of fresh food, had opened their 1,000th location five years after the format was introduced.
Fresh-focused stores are specialty outlets that broaden the role of convenience stores into neighborhood grocery channels. Their defining feature is a significantly expanded range of fresh food, including vegetables, fruits, eggs, and meat, enabling essential grocery shopping for one- and two-person households. Since GS25 first launched the format in 2021, 217 stores were added last year even as the company focused on improving store efficiency, and 226 more have already been added so far this year.
As of the first half of this year, fresh food sales at fresh-focused stores were about 12 times higher than at regular stores. Customer count and average spending per customer were also found to have increased by 36% and 15%, respectively, compared with regular stores.
In particular, GS25 has built a fresh food operating system difficult to implement in the convenience store industry by leveraging the fresh food procurement network and product operation know-how of GS The Fresh, the corporate supermarket also operated by GS Retail. The company explained that as the profitability of fresh-focused stores has been confirmed, inquiries about new franchise openings and requests to convert existing stores have followed one after another.
"Fresh-focused stores are a case in which GS Retail's franchise business capabilities and fresh food sourcing capabilities created synergy, successfully expanding the role of convenience stores in line with changing consumption structures and trends," a GS25 official said. "We will develop this as a core strategy to drive qualitative growth in the convenience store business."
