Convenience Store Industry, Golf Course Oasis 'Geuneuljip' Battle Royale

Major Convenience Store Golf Course Outlets Double
April Sales Rise Despite COVID-19
Unmanned Stores Ideal for Shade Houses
Partnerships with Golf Equipment Specialty Brands

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The convenience store industry, which has fallen into a saturated red ocean of store openings, is turning its attention to golf. They are opening stores that minimize labor costs in golf course rest areas such as shaded huts. The number of stores, including unmanned convenience stores, within golf courses has doubled compared to the end of last year. They have also started selling golf equipment. This is because the 20s and 30s generation, who became interested through screen golf, are flocking to public golf courses on weekends, causing a surge in equipment consumption.

◆ Convenience Store Industry "Capture the Shaded Huts" = According to the convenience store industry on the 13th, the total number of stores within golf courses operated by the four major domestic convenience stores is 24, showing a 100% increase compared to 12 stores at the end of December last year. Emart24 has the most with 9 stores, followed by GS25 with 7, CU with 5, and 7-Eleven with 3. Emart24, a latecomer in the convenience store industry, holds the most stores within golf courses. Emart24 opened an unmanned convenience store in the shaded hut at Pocheon Hills CC in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province, in August last year, becoming the first to open a convenience store in a domestic golf course shaded hut. GS25 has also aggressively expanded its network, adding 5 new stores since the beginning of the year.

A shaded hut is a kind of rest area located midway on a golf course where players can enjoy drinks or light snacks. Most are operated unmanned without separate staff. Taking advantage of this characteristic, the convenience store industry is consecutively opening unmanned convenience stores mainly composed of vending machines. Another advantage is the efficient display of products in limited space.

With the increasing number of stores, sales are also on the rise. The month-over-month sales growth rate of convenience stores within golf courses in April reached an average of 48.5%. GS25 showed the steepest growth at 109.9%, followed by Emart24 (40.1%), CU (39%), and 7-Eleven (5%). These figures include only stores comparable between March and April. The domestic golf population has also increased to 7.61 million, about three times more than 10 years ago, which has influenced sales.

The rise of golf courses as the next blue ocean is largely due to the saturation of the previously growing domestic convenience store industry. As of November last year, the number of stores for major domestic convenience stores was GS25 with 13,899, CU with 13,820, 7-Eleven with 10,005, and Emart with 4,438, totaling about 14,500 stores. The demand for openings in places where competition was once fierce, such as subway stations, Han River parks, and military stores, has decreased. In fact, in March, only GS25 and CU participated in the bid for the 'Navy PX (Post Exchange) Private Operator Selection' by the Military Welfare Corporation. GS25, the existing operator, won the contract, but with a minimum sales discount rate of 35%, profitability concerns remain a challenge. High annual fees are also an issue. The subway lines 6 and 7 also failed to attract bids due to low profitability. As convenience store culture has settled domestically, the compulsion to promote brands has also disappeared.

◆ GS25 and Volvik Enter the Golf Equipment Market = Golf equipment is also emerging as a new revenue source for the convenience store industry. As people in their 20s and 30s have become major players in the golf market, demand for various equipment has increased. GS25 is partnering with the golf specialty brand 'Volvik' to actively roll out golf equipment-exclusive displays in stores nationwide. They plan to develop brand-exclusive products in collaboration with Volvik and expand golf equipment hybrid stores mainly in key stores near golf courses. Previously, due to the nature of convenience stores located nationwide, stores near golf courses sold golf balls, lost balls, gloves, and ball pouches in consultation with headquarters. CU introduced related products at some specialized convenience stores near golf courses in Yeoju, Icheon, and Jeju regions back in 2013.

An Byeong-hoon, head of the Lifestyle Service Product Planning (MD) division at GS Retail, said, "As convenience stores grow into central consumption platforms, customer needs for various products that did not exist before are rapidly increasing. Following the golf equipment we are introducing this time, we plan to continuously pioneer and introduce various sports and leisure product categories."

A convenience store industry official explained, "When convenience stores, which have advanced IT and logistics systems, enter golf courses, golf course operators can operate shaded huts much more efficiently and conveniently compared to existing restaurants. Customers can also use various products from familiar convenience store brands."

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