Topic summary
Convenience stores
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Convenience store.
South Korea
Convenience stores in the Republic of Korea date to 1982, when Lotte opened a store in Seoul. Stores saw growth after the 1988 Summer Olympics with the first 7-Eleven, and even since the 2010s where department stores and marts have struggled. As of the end of 2023, there are about 55,000 convenience stores in South Korea, and in Seoul, it has increased by about four times compared to 15 years ago as of 2021, expanding to the extent that almost every street has convenience stores. As of 2024, CU and GS25 are competing for the first or second place in market share with a slight gap in sales and number of stores, followed by 7-Eleven.