GS Retail and Carrot Market joined hands for a joint business on and offline. Convenience stores, as well as a large distribution company with over 15,000 stores nationwide, and a regional-based online platform with 20 million members meet to provide regional services. It is noteworthy whether it will become a new competitive point for the domestic distribution industry, which is being reorganized around online.
GS Retail and Carrot Market announced on the 9th that they signed a business agreement (MOU) to cooperate with each other. The two companies plan to actively collaborate on △ product sales △ regional-based service △ new product development. An official of GS Retail said, “GS Retail, which has the largest number of short-distance offline distribution channels in Korea, and the online community based on local life in Korea, have met,” and said, “We expect the two companies to win-win through cooperation.”
The first collaboration service to be released is’Closed Product Information’. It will be released as early as next month. It is a service that first informs users of the carrot market about products that are on sale at the close due to the expiration date at GS25 and GS Supermarket. The two companies shared a sympathy with the aim of preventing waste of food resources and helping franchisees maximize profits. It was judged as one of the ways to practice ESG (environmental, social, governance) management. An official at the carrot market said, “We plan to gradually expand our product line, starting with lunch boxes and triangle kimbap that have a relatively short shelf life,” and “local residents can expect the effect of protecting the environment while buying cheap products.”
A service that provides job information at GS Retail stores through the carrot market is also planned. It aims to create jobs and revitalize the local economy by providing job search and job information for local residents at GS Retail stores.
GS Retail’s collaboration with the carrot market is the result of the collaboration. GS Supermarket has directly confirmed the effect of increasing sales by posting advertisements in the carrot market since last year. The strategy is to hurry the transition to local services driven by GS Retail in collaboration with the carrot market.
GS Retail has more than 15,000 offline stores, including the convenience store GS25, GS Supermarket, and Lalavla (Health and Beauty Store). GS25 is transforming its own convenience store into a service-oriented store while aiming to become a’lifestyle platform’ for consumers. “GS Retail’s offline stores are evolving into a lifestyle platform by expanding from a retail store function,” said Oh Jin-seok, vice president of GS Retail’s strategy division. said.
Carrot Market, launched in July 2015, has 20 million members and 13.5 million monthly users (as of January), making it the largest used trading platform in Korea and a regional online community.
An official from the distribution industry said, “The number of stores at GS Retail and the number of members at the carrot market are the largest in Korea, respectively,” and “The synergy between the two companies has no choice but to have a significant impact on the distribution industry landscape.”
Reporter Kiman Kim [email protected]
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