BGF Retail to export CU products to China

BGF Retail CEO Min Seung-bae, left, poses with Ningshing Ubay CEO Shi Chenjia at BGF Retail’s Seoul office, Wednesday, after signing a partnership to distribute CU’s private brand products in China. Courtesy of BGF Retail

The operator of the country’s major convenience store brand CU will export its private brand products to China, opening the door to the country’s vast consumer market of over 1.4 billion people.

BGF Retail’s latest move builds on its ongoing effort to expand globally through CU’s private brand food products. To date, the company has exported these products to 20 countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Vietnam and Mongolia.

BGF Retail CEO Min Seung-bae on Wednesday met Shi Chenjia, CEO of Ningshing Ubay, at the Korean firm’s Seoul office and signed a memorandum of understanding for the partnership. Through the deal, BGF Retail will export its private brand products to "China’s largest importer of foods, beauty products and electronics,” the Korean firm said.

With the partnership, Ningshing Ubay, specializing in e-commerce, will distribute BGF Retail’s private brand products to China’s major online retail platforms. The Chinese firm will also promote the products through live commerce and collaboration with influencers on social media platforms in China.

A customer shops CU’s private brand food products at a store in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of BGF Retail

BGF Retail hopes the partnership will also support the company’s offline market expansion in China. The company said it plans to introduce pop-up stores for its products in major Chinese cities.

The partnership comes after the Korean government introduced visa-free entry on Sept. 29 for Chinese nationals traveling with tour groups of three of more people. BGF Retail said that following the policy’s introduction, CU saw a 95.4 percent increase in the use of major Chinese payment methods such as Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay through Tuesday compared with the previous week.

BGF Retail’s latest overseas market expansion has created opportunities for 60 small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Korea that manufacture the private brand products. The CU operator said the partnership with Ningshing Ubay has “strengthened our initiative for mutual growth with our SME partners.”

“Our strategic business partner will maximize the expertise of both companies, promoting the K-convenience brand and its private brand products,” Min said.

BGF Retail’s deal with Ningshing Ubay comes after the company began supplying products to Japan’s major retail distributor, Don Quijote, in January 2024.

BGF Retail’s export goal for this year is $10 million. The company reached an export goal of $8 million last year and plans to increase the target to $50 million within five years.