| CU | |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Industry: | Convenience stores |
| Founded: | 1990 2012 |
| Hq Location Country: | South Korea |
| Num Locations: | 14923[1] |
| Area Served: | South Korea Mongolia Malaysia Kazakhstan |
| Owner: | BGF Retail |
| Parent: | BGF Group FamilyMart (former) |
| Website: | BGF-CU.com |
CU is a South Korean convenience store chain owned and operated by BGF Retail. It was formed after FamilyMart's franchise license in South Korea expired.[2]
In 1990, the Bogwang Group formed a license contract with FamilyMart to launch convenience stores under the FamilyMart brand in South Korea.[3] The first FamilyMart in South Korea opened in October 1990.[4] On December 1, 1994, the Bogwang Group established a separate corporation; Bogwang FamilyMart (now the BGF Group) to oversee its convenience store operations division.[5] The chain enjoyed steady growth, reaching 2,000 stores in 2003 and 5,000 stores by 2010.[6]
Bogwang FamilyMart officially changed its name to BGF Retail on June 8, 2012, and subsequently announced the launching of its new convenience store brand "CU". South Korea's FamilyMart was officially renamed to CU on August 1, 2012, along with the opening of the first store utilizing the new name.[7] The change came as BGF Retail aimed to create a "Korean-style" convenience store and cease its payment of royalties to FamilyMart.[8] In April 2019, CU has started a delivery service, and magnified the service to 1000 stores in May.[9]
CU launched its first foreign store in November 2018, in Tehran, Iran. However, the store had not even operated for a month when it had to close because of the United States' sanctions against Iran.
The first store opened in March 2024 in Almaty. In general, the project provides for the opening of about one hundred CU shops in Kazakhstan at the first stage. By 2029, BGF Retail plans to open 500 outlets in Kazakhstan and is also considering entering neighbouring markets.[10]
CU has opened 304 stores in Ulaanbaatar, 1 store in Darkhan-Uul, Mongolia, as of December 2022. Also, they planned to expand the number of branches from 200 to 240 by the end of the 2022. CU competes with another Korean convenience chain, GS25, which has 124 stores throughout the capital region.
CU opened its first stores within Malaysia in 2021, after reaching a partnership with local convenience store company myNews Holdings Bhd. CU plans to open 500 stores within Malaysia by 2026; the group will initially open 30 to 50 CU stores and assess their sales performance before expanding further. In April 2021, CU opened its first store in Centerpoint Bandar Utama.[11] [12]