[2020 Asia Consumer Awards] GS25 Surpassing Convenience Stores... Leading Food, Knife, and Music Culture

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] GS Retail, which is approaching its 30th anniversary this year, has the motto of 'leading customers' life innovation.' Last year as well, it solidified its position as the industry leader by continuously attempting various initiatives to make its convenience store GS25 a 'essential living platform for local communities.'

The greatest competitive advantage lies in the diverse private brand (PB) products introduced over 30 years of experience. Starting with the launch of the first premium PB ramen, 'Teumsae Ramen,' in 2006, the range has expanded to include triangular kimbap, lunch boxes, and coffee. In particular, Cafe25, armed with cost-effectiveness (performance relative to price), sold over 130 million cups last year alone. This success is attributed to capturing customers' refined tastes with high-quality coffee bean blending at an affordable price.

Beyond leading food culture, GS Retail has also established lifestyle-oriented services. These include parcel delivery, public utility bill payments, Hi-Pass recharging, ATMs, micro-mobility battery exchange and charging, laundry-linked services, and online shopping mall payment agency services. More than 14,000 GS25 stores nationwide have built comprehensive lifestyle services beyond mere retail functions.

Since convenience stores are closely related to food safety, GS Retail has also taken the lead in consumer protection. It was the first in the industry to label nutritional information on all lunch boxes and strengthened environmental protection efforts by introducing eco-friendly lunch box containers and paper straws. The former 'Fresh Food' factory obtained HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) certification for hygiene. Differentiated products were offered through eco-friendly designated farms. Additionally, under the direction of 'living together with neighbors and the community,' various social contribution activities were carried out to help socially marginalized groups. Since its inception in 2006, the GS Nanumi volunteer program has surpassed 58,000 participants and 150,000 hours of volunteer work as of last November.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.