BGF Retail opens Korea's largest convenience-store logistics hub
A rendering of BGF Retail’s Busan logistics center in Gangseo District, Busan. Courtesy of BGF Retail
BGF Retail has opened what it calls Korea’s largest logistics center for the convenience-store industry, placing a 260 billion won ($187 million) investment at the center of its effort to remake regional distribution and support overseas expansion.
The company held a completion ceremony Wednesday at its new facility in Gurang-dong, Gangseo District, Busan, with BGF Group Chairman Hong Seok-jo, BGF Retail Vice Chairman Hong Jung-kook and Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo among those attending.
Built on a 47,186.8-square-meter site, the center has 128,072.65 square meters of floor space, making it BGF Retail’s largest logistics investment to date.
BGF Retail began planning the facility after signing an investment agreement with Busan in 2021 and started construction in 2024, completing the project on July 14 after roughly two years of construction.
The center is designed to reorganize deliveries across Busan and the Yeongnam region while serving as a major distribution point for CU stores.
Its location near Busan New Port will also allow BGF Retail to handle import and export logistics as it expands its overseas business in markets including Mongolia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan and Hawaii.
The facility uses automated storage and retrieval systems, auto-labeling equipment and digital picking systems to streamline the movement and sorting of goods and adjust to changes in volume by season and day.
The automation is also intended to reduce repetitive, physically demanding work, while the center has received preliminary first-grade certification under the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s smart logistics center program.
A rooftop solar power system is capable of generating up to 2,700 megawatt-hours of electricity annually, adding a renewable-energy component to the facility’s operations.
The company said the center would strengthen CU’s logistics capabilities, improve supply stability and support the convenience-store chain’s expansion beyond Korea.
This article was published with the assistance of generative AI and edited by The Korea Times.