Seven Eleven operates 'Living Support Loan' for store owners struggling due to COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Seven Eleven announced on the 28th that it will operate a short-term ‘Living Support Loan’ to encourage and assist franchise owners who are experiencing difficulties in operating their stores due to the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Since the end of February, when COVID-19 began to spread in earnest, the convenience store industry has also been hit, causing sales at many stores to decline regardless of region or commercial district, and increasing the difficulties faced by franchise owners.

In response, Seven Eleven has established a ‘Loan System’ from a win-win perspective for franchise stores that need short-term funds due to a significant decrease in store revenue, to support stable store operation and the livelihood of franchise owners. A total of 1.1 billion KRW in support funds will be provided this month upon application by the franchise owners. This ‘short-term living support loan’ will be provided with zero interest, and repayment can be made in installments later.

In addition to this ‘Living Support Fund,’ Seven Eleven operates various win-win programs. Together with Woori Bank, it operates a 100 billion KRW scale win-win fund, and has expanded support for disposal of food, differentiated products, and ambient and refrigerated products. A new ‘Stable Investment Type’ with an increased profit-sharing ratio for franchise owners has been introduced, and an exit strategy has been prepared that reduces termination costs by up to 50% for low-profit franchise stores.

Lee Woo-sik, Head of Sales at Seven Eleven, said, “As franchise owners are also going through difficult times amid the unprecedented social crisis of COVID-19, we are constantly considering ways to overcome the difficulties faced by franchise stores,” and added, “We hope the difficulties of the stores will recover as soon as possible, and the franchise headquarters will spare no support both materially and spiritually.”

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