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K-convenience stores that have expanded overseas have established themselves as leading local convenience stores, surpassing foreign brands.

Vietnamese consumers are using the first local franchise store, GS25 Mastery Branch.
[Photo by GS25].

GS25 announced on the 3rd that five years after entering Vietnam, it has become the number one operator in terms of the number of stores in southern Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam GS25 opened its first store, GS25 Emprise Tower, in Ho Chi Minh City in January 2018, and as of the end of last month, it operates 211 stores, surpassing foreign brand convenience stores such as Circle K and FamilyMart, which entered earlier in southern Vietnam. Across all regions of Vietnam, it ranks second in the number of stores, following Circle K.

Vietnam GS25 maintained an aggressive store expansion strategy despite the COVID-19 pandemic. With accumulated experience in developing local convenience store locations, the store opening success rate (accuracy within 10% of expected sales before opening) improved from 71% in 2018, the early stage of entry, to over 90% in 2023. Operating profit margins have also improved significantly every year, and GS25 explained that they aim to turn profitable by 2026.

Since 2021, Vietnam GS25 has been the only brand convenience store in Vietnam to start franchising and currently operates 16 franchise stores. From September this year, they will develop three additional franchise types to enable startups with lower investment amounts.

As of the first quarter of this year, the youth unemployment rate in Vietnam exceeded 7%, and the employment market situation is worse than before, which the company said was a reason for Vietnam GS25 to develop additional franchise types. It was explained that nearly 400 prospective entrepreneurs, mainly young people, were waiting at the Vietnam GS25 office.

Vietnam GS25, which is expanding to southern Vietnam’s central city Ho Chi Minh and nearby areas such as Binh Duong, Dong Nai, and Vung Tau, has also prepared to expand into wider regions than currently.

GS Retail’s Vietnamese partner, Son Kim Retail, secured additional business funds by confirming a $20 million (approximately 25 billion KRW) investment from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank (WB), in June.

Vietnam GS25 initially hit Korean-style cooked foods such as Tteokbokki, and starting this year, introduced Chicken25 and skewer-type instant cooked foods, increasing cooked food sales by 83% in the first half of this year compared to the previous year. In the second half, they plan to introduce 24 popular domestic private brand (PB) products.

Kim Myung-jong, Executive Director of GS Retail’s Convenience Store Support Division, said, "We turned the crisis of COVID-19 into an opportunity by actively expanding stores and appropriately implementing localization product strategies, becoming the number one convenience store in southern Vietnam. GS25 will grow beyond South Korea to become Asia’s representative convenience store brand."

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