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| A CU drone delivers products to the Oasis Glamping spot in Yeongwol County, Gangwon Province, on July 5. Courtesy of BGF Retail |
By Kim Jae-heun
BGF Retail, the operator of convenience store chain CU, is commercializing drone delivery for online orders in collaboration with Yeongwol County in Gangwon Province, starting from July 8. It will be the first Korean retailer to provide such a service targeting general customers, the company said, Wednesday.
CU's Yeongwol Jugong branch will be the first store to operate the high-tech delivery service and for now, drones will only fly to the Oasis Glamping spot, which is some 3.6 kilometers away.
The items that can be delivered by drones are mostly small items weighing less than 5 kilograms such as cup noodles, desserts, lunch sets and beverages.
Drone delivery is currently available on Fridays and Saturdays only, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., and it will be free of charge.
The retail company said it will take only 10 minutes to deliver customers' orders as they will not be affected by traffic jams on the road.
BGF Retail's drone weighs 17 kilograms and its battery runs for 20 minutes when fully charged. Its maximum speed goes up to 36 kilometers per hour, which is twice as fast as the top speed of an electric bicycle.
"We have successfully commercialized drone delivery for the first time in Korea, providing a consumer-centered shopping service. We will continue to improve our drone quality and reduce delivery times in the near future," a BGF Retail official said.
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