In Their 30s, 2nd and 4th Generation Owners Take the Front... Convenience Store Industry's Top 2 Companies Begin Full-Scale Management Succession

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Seung-jin] The succession process for the owners of GS Retail and BGF Retail, the top two convenience store operators, has officially begun. In the increasingly competitive convenience store industry, the goal is to strengthen organizational stability through swift management succession and lay the foundation for a new leap forward.

According to the convenience store industry on the 30th, BGF Group promoted Hong Jeong-guk (38), CEO of BGF, from vice president to president in the 2021 regular personnel reshuffle. Hong is the eldest son of Hong Seok-jo, chairman of BGF Group, and this promotion solidified his position as the head of BGF Group.

Born in 1982, Hong graduated from Stanford University with a degree in economics and completed an MBA at the Wharton School. He then gained social experience working as a consultant at Korea Asset Valuation and Boston Consulting Group Korea. He joined BGF Group in 2013 and began his training as a successor.

In particular, Hong transferred to BGF Retail, which operates CU, in 2016, leading overseas business and new ventures, spending three years in the group's core convenience store business. Under his leadership during this period, CU entered Iran and achieved early business success but faced setbacks due to U.S. economic sanctions on Iran, withdrawing from the market after one year.

However, Hong later succeeded in stabilizing CU's entry into Mongolia, earning recognition for his business capabilities. 'CU Mongolia' opened its first store in 2018 and surpassed 100 stores within two years, establishing itself as the number one operator in the local market.

Hong was promoted to vice president at BGF Retail in 2017 and rose to the head of BGF Group within seven years of joining. Through this personnel move, BGF Group plans to strengthen responsible management and focus on discovering and nurturing new growth foundations across the group.

Management succession has also begun in earnest at GS Retail. Heo Chi-hong (37), the fourth-generation owner of GS Group, was promoted from assistant manager to manager in the recent GS Group regular executive reshuffle and moved to the position of 'Convenience Store Division 5 Head,' responsible for on-site convenience store operations, marking the start of active management succession.

Manager Heo is the eldest son of Heo Jin-soo, chairman of GS Caltex. He graduated from Boston University with a degree in tourism and joined GS Global as an employee at age 27, eventually becoming a section chief. He transferred to GS Retail in 2016, working in the New Business Promotion Office, and was promoted to assistant manager earlier this year, becoming an executive.

Heo, who is of a similar age to Hong, has followed a similar path. Around the same time, he moved to retail and took charge of new business, increasing his understanding of overall operations. Recently, Heo oversaw the 'Dalli Salda' project, an organic specialty online mall launched by GS Retail, actively seeking new growth engines.

Heo is expected to take a more prominent role following GS Retail's merger with GS Home Shopping. It took Heo four years to become an executive after being promoted to section chief, but his rapid promotion just one year after becoming an executive is unusual. GS Retail plans to complete the merger with GS Home Shopping by July next year, and it is interpreted that Heo will gain on-site sales experience as the 'Convenience Store Division 5 Head' and solidify his position through rapid promotion before the merger.

An industry insider explained, "When owner succession happens quickly, it helps establish organizational structure and presents uniformity in business to the members, which is advantageous."

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