GS25, the convenience store chain operated by GS Retail, said on the 10th that it is running a dedicated banana farm in Vietnam to secure consistent quality control and a smooth product supply.
The designated farm is a Del Monte banana farm in the Tay Ninh region, about 50 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City. The farm produces "Del Monte Fresh Week Bananas," sold in bunches of three to five. Through the arrangement, GS25 has set up a system to receive a steady monthly supply of more than 200,000 packs at consistent quality. The retail price is 1,990 won, among the lowest in the industry.
Ahead of designating the farm, GS25 began selling products from the site in March. Cumulative sales reached about 700 million won by the end of last month, and the steady consumer demand led the company to formally designate the farm. GS25 plans to sell the designated farm's bananas in limited runs during its monthly "Fresh Week" promotional events.
GS25 expects the dedicated overseas banana farm to benefit not only consumers but also store owners' operating efficiency. The farm is equipped with a separate sorting and packaging system that produces the small-package products suited to convenience store sales. Because the individual packaging can be completed locally, stores can order by the unit based on their own sales volumes from the ordering stage, instead of the previous box-based supply method. The company expects this to reduce stores' inventory burden and improve logistics and operating efficiency.
An official at GS Retail (007070.KS) said, "We will continue to expand strategic cooperation with production regions to offer customers high-quality fresh food at reasonable prices and keep strengthening our competitiveness in fresh food."
