South Korea's convenience store industry, which shrank last year by closing large numbers of low-margin outlets, is expanding again this year. With the sorting of profitable and unprofitable stores now largely complete and business conditions recovering, competition for prime locations is heating up once more.
GS25 operated 18,021 stores as of the first half of this year, marking a net increase in contrast to last year, according to securities industry data released on the 1st. GS25's store count fell by 10 from 18,112 at the end of 2024 to 18,005 at the end of last year, its first annual decline. New openings have continued in the second half of this year, and the expansion is expected to continue for some time. CU, the only one of the four major chains to keep expanding last year, has added more stores this year.
Companies that had carried out large-scale store efficiency drives are also shifting course. Seven-Eleven cut more than 1,000 stores, from 12,152 at the end of 2024 to 11,040 at the end of last year, as it closed overlapping and low-performing outlets following its acquisition of Ministop. This year, however, its store count has begun rising again.
Emart24 saw a sharp drop of 620 stores, from 6,130 at the end of 2024 to 5,510 at the end of last year, but lost only 17 in the first half of this year, a significant slowdown. Combined store numbers for the four chains fell to 53,266 at the end of last year, the first contraction on record, but rose to 53,458 in July this year, about 200 more than at the end of last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Industry officials say last year's decline reflected a restructuring of store networks around profitability rather than a contraction of the convenience store market itself. With that trimming of low-performing outlets largely finished and business conditions improving this year, conditions are in place to expand again.
Sales are indeed recovering. Revenue at the four chains fell 1.0% year-on-year in the first quarter of last year and 0.9% in the second quarter, two consecutive quarters of decline, but rebounded to gains of 2.5% and 4.8% in the first and second quarters of this year, according to the ministry. Both the frequency of store visits and the amount spent per visit have risen. Total transaction volume fell from a year earlier through January this year but turned higher from February. Average spending per purchase has run 1% to 3% above year-earlier levels every month this year.
Behind the trend is convenience stores' rapid absorption of grocery shopping demand, once the domain of hypermarkets and supermarkets, on top of their existing customer base. CU's second-quarter sales of grocery items rose 18.2% from a year earlier, outpacing the 12.8% increase in the first quarter. At GS25, first-half sales of grocery items including vegetables, meat and fruit climbed 30.9%. Growth was strongest in categories that had not traditionally been convenience store staples, with meat up 45.4% and vegetables up 43.9%.
The nature of the expansion race is also changing. Rather than simply adding stores, the chains are focusing on securing top-tier locations that promise high sales, such as newly occupied apartment districts and busy commercial areas. "As the product range has widened from cigarettes and processed foods to fresh food, ready meals and desserts, convenience stores are absorbing consumer demand from other retail channels," an industry official said. "With last year's cleanup of low-margin stores largely complete, competition for new openings is re-emerging this year, centered on key commercial districts with strong grocery demand."
