The GS The Fresh Songpa Seokchon Station branch, which opened Thursday as the brand's 500th franchise location [GS Retail]
The GS The Fresh Songpa Seokchon Station branch, which opened Thursday as the brand's 500th franchise location [GS Retail]

GS The Fresh, a supermarket brand operated by GS Retail, opened its Songpa Seokchon Station branch in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Thursday, surpassing 500 franchise locations for the first time in the industry. The opening brings the brand's total store count to 603.

The new branch spans 289 square meters along Songpadaero and targets newlywed couples and families in the surrounding residential neighborhoods. The opening ceremony was attended by store owner Oh Byeong-sang, GS Retail CEO Heo Seo-hong and GS Retail Super Business Unit head Gwak Yong-gu, along with other senior executives.

GS The Fresh traces its roots to "Lucky Super Chain," founded in 1974, and draws about 150 million visitors a year. As of the first half of this year, it ranks first in the industry in store count, sales and operating profit.

A strategic shift from company-operated stores to a franchise-centered model proved effective. The brand accelerated franchise openings in response to growing demand for neighborhood grocery shopping that emerged during the pandemic. It took 16 years from the opening of the first franchise location, Sinsa branch, in 2010 to reach the 500-store milestone.

A chain operation system has played a central role in keeping franchise stores running smoothly. By standardizing product assortments and having headquarters lead shelf arrangement and ordering, the system lets franchise owners focus on marketing and sales promotion tailored to their local trade areas. In 2020, the year after the chain operation system was introduced, franchise stores exceeded 50 percent of all locations for the first time; that share has since grown to about 83 percent.

The brand is also pursuing additional sales opportunities through quick commerce, which promises delivery within one hour. GS The Fresh's quick-commerce sales rose 41.9 percent in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year. Quick commerce also reached a record-high share of 9.9 percent of total second-quarter sales.

Expansion guided by geographic information system-based trade area analysis is also ongoing. The brand uses store-level trade area and customer data to optimize product selection and operations, lifting sales at existing locations as well. Same-store sales at GS The Fresh grew 6.2 percent year-on-year from January through July this year.

"We are rapidly expanding our store count by shifting our business structure toward franchising, while actively pursuing additional revenue opportunities such as quick commerce," said Gwak Yong-gu, head of GS Retail's Super Business Unit. "We will grow with the goal of generating stable returns for franchise owners by strengthening franchise competitiveness and operational efficiency through AI transformation and data-driven management."


spa@heraldcorp.com