bhc Chicken, CEO Im Geum-ok Rises to Industry No.1 in 5 Years

Last Year’s Sales Surpass 500 Billion KRW for the First Time in the Industry
"Thanks to Customer-Centric Management, Infrastructure Expansion, and Franchise Structure Improvement"

Im Geum-ok, CEO of bhc Chicken.
[Photo by bhc Chicken]

bhc Chicken surpassed 500 billion KRW in sales last year, rising to the top position in the industry. This achievement marks 10 years since it began independent management in 2013 and 5 years since CEO Im Geum-ok, a former Samsung Electronics executive, took office.

bhc Chicken announced on the 15th that its annual sales last year reached 507.5 billion KRW (individual basis). This is a record never before achieved in the chicken industry. Kyochon Chicken, which had held the number one spot until now, recorded sales of 498.8 billion KRW (individual basis) last year, falling to second place.

In particular, since CEO Im took office in 2017, the company has accelerated its growth by implanting Samsung's successful DNA into bhc Chicken.

After taking office, CEO Im emphasized the fundamental roles and responsibilities (R&R) between headquarters and franchise stores, returning to basics and fully implementing principle-based management. To maintain customer-centered operational rule management and customer-focused operations publicly declared to customers by both headquarters and franchise stores, she persuaded franchise stores nationwide on the importance of operating hours, resulting in reduced customer complaints based on compliance with business rules, thereby increasing trust in the brand.

To raise customer satisfaction and boost franchise store sales, bhc Chicken was the first in the industry to pursue obtaining hygiene grades for all stores, supervised by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. As a result, stores that acquired hygiene grades last year accounted for about 88% of all stores, marking the highest figure in the industry.

In 2019, bhc Chicken became the first in the industry to directly operate a call center that collects two-way feedback from customers and franchise owners, focusing on quality management with the goal of zero customer complaints.

In the same year, a store environment improvement project was carried out targeting franchise stores in poor conditions, focusing on the overall reconstruction of store infrastructure. As part of the project, the expansion of infrastructure such as fryers and refrigeration/freezing equipment significantly contributed to increased average sales per franchise store by handling the growing order volume during the pandemic era.

In 2021, bhc Chicken conducted a store relocation project, a large-scale win-win support program for franchise store structural improvement, actively supporting the relocation of about 500 aging franchise stores.

bhc Chicken has grown vertically with an average annual growth rate of over 20%, recording sales of 300 billion KRW in 2019 and 400 billion KRW in 2020. Last year’s sales of 507.5 billion KRW represent a 111% growth compared to 240 billion KRW in 2017 when CEO Im took office.

A bhc Chicken official emphasized, "bhc Chicken will not be complacent with today’s achievements but will continue to strengthen its core competencies and strive even harder to advance the Korean franchise industry to the next level."

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