BGF Retail said on the 10th that its fourth-quarter results last year came to 2.2923 trillion won in revenue and 64.2 billion won in operating profit. Compared with a year earlier, revenue rose 3.4% and operating profit increased 24.4%.
For the full year, revenue was 9.0612 trillion won and operating profit was 253.9 billion won. Year over year, revenue rose 4.2% and operating profit increased 0.9%. Both revenue and operating profit hit all-time highs.
Last year, convenience store CU was the first in the industry to launch a Dubai dessert series, capturing related demand. In addition, tie-in products with popular IP such as Metamon and Brawl Stars were hits, driving sales growth. CU also strengthened quick commerce services by joining Coupang Eats and expanding get coffee delivery, and pursued higher same-store sales with store operating strategies that increased product turnover.
Notably in the fourth quarter last year, the sales mix of general merchandise increased from a year earlier, while the cigarette share fell by 0.7 percentage point, improving the overall profit structure.
On the store front, CU continued an opening strategy centered on profit-strong locations. The number of stores last year rose by 253 from a year earlier to 18,711. The new stores opened last year saw average daily sales up 6.4% from a year earlier, and CU enhanced store competitiveness by increasing the share of medium and large formats.
A BGF Retail official said, "This year as well, we will continue opening high-quality new stores while focusing on product and service innovation and differentiated customer experience to strengthen business competitiveness, and we will maintain a management stance focused on qualitative growth by stabilizing operating expense."