BGF Retail, which operates the CU convenience store chain, said on the 25th that it will launch a mobile convenience store business using senior-staffed CU "Ieum Stores" as hubs, in partnership with the Korea Labor Force Development Institute for the aged (KORDI) and the Korea Real Estate Board (REB).
The project is a practical task under the "business agreement to create senior jobs and promote employment" signed by BGF Retail and the Korea Labor Force Development Institute for the aged (KORDI) in Apr. last year. The goal is to create jobs for seniors and resolve "food deserts" in areas where residents struggle to buy groceries.
To that end, CU Ieum Stores are senior-staffed convenience stores created in cooperation with senior job-performing institutions nationwide. Senior workers take part in all aspects of store operations, including ordering, merchandising, and customer service, and the program is designed to provide stable income. A total of five stores are currently operating nationwide.
Among five senior clubs selected through a project call by the Korea Labor Force Development Institute for the aged (KORDI), the Gongju Senior Club will participate as the executing institution for this mobile senior convenience store project. Using the CU Gongju Singwan-ro store as a hub, the Gongju Senior Club plans to operate a mobile convenience store at least once a month in food desert areas within Gongju.
Funding needed for the project will come from donations by the Korea Real Estate Board (REB). BGF Retail will support the overall project by providing mobile store infrastructure, region-tailored product assortments based on accumulated field operation data, consulting for operational stabilization, and on-site support.
BGF Retail aims to further expand the social role of mobile convenience stores through this project. The company plans to evolve it into a new public cooperation model that not only combines a food desert mitigation model with senior job creation, but also supports both improved access to local food and stable economic activity for older adults.
Park Jong-seong, head of communications at BGF Retail, said, "Taking this project as a starting point, we are reviewing ways to expand the CU Ieum Store-based mobile convenience store model nationwide together with the Korea Labor Force Development Institute for the aged," adding, "Going forward, CU will continue to broaden its public-interest role needed in a super-aged society, based on its largest offline store network and mobile convenience store operating expertise."