Seven Convenience Stores in One Apartment Complex?...Gyeonggi Province Seeks Solutions to Convenience Store Saturation

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hoon Reporter] Gyeonggi Province held a meeting on the 4th to "listen to field voices from convenience store owners" to address convenience store saturation in the province, attended by Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly members Choi Gap-chul and So Young-hwan, major domestic convenience store owners, and relevant personnel.

The province explained that it had transmitted a recommendation to expand the designated distance for cigarette retailers to 100 meters or more to each city and county in April, and subsequently arranged this meeting to confirm the convenience store industry situation and understand the damage and grievances of convenience store owners in the province while seeking improvement measures.

According to a "2019 Convenience Store Nearby Outlet Reality Survey" conducted by Gyeonggi Province, as of the end of last year, the number of convenience store franchise outlets nationwide is approximately 44,360.

Gyeonggi Province has approximately 11,090 convenience stores, representing 25% of the total. From 2016 to last year, the number of convenience stores in the province has increased by 11.6% annually.

Cigarette sales constitute a significant portion of convenience store revenue. Currently, most city and county internal regulations require a minimum distance of 50 meters between each retailer.

Nevertheless, approximately 6,000 new convenience stores open nationwide each year.

With the prolonged COVID-19 situation and factors such as minimum wage increases continuing to cause sharp declines in convenience store sales, efforts to address saturation are necessary.

Looking at actual cases, a large apartment complex in Goyang City saw seven convenience stores open within one year, resulting in a sales decline of more than 33% for existing store owners.

In Siheung City, a well-known brand convenience store applied for cigarette retail permission to open a new location, but when the distance measurement fell short of 50 meters, permission was not granted. The store location was then adjusted to slightly exceed 50 meters to obtain re-approval.

A convenience store association official stated, "The 50-meter distance restriction for cigarette retailers is insufficient to prevent excessive convenience store competition," and added, "We hope that Gyeonggi Province, which has the most convenience stores nationwide, will provide encouragement to many self-employed business owners through proactive distance expansion policies."

Kim Ji-ye, director of Gyeonggi Province's Fair Economy Division, said, "Convenience stores are a representative business type in alley commercial areas and are closely related to the livelihoods of many small business owners. We will actively reflect field voices and continue to seek countermeasures to help alleviate the economic difficulties of convenience store owners," and added, "We urge convenience store headquarters to faithfully adhere to voluntary regulations to refrain from excessive competition and make efforts toward mutual prosperity between headquarters and store owners."

Meanwhile, among cities and counties in the province, Goyang City and Gwacheon City have completed rule amendments expanding the cigarette retail distance from the existing 50 meters to 100 meters and are preparing for implementation on January 1 next year, which is expected to contribute to sales stabilization for convenience store owners in the future.

Gyeonggi Province plans to organize the discussion items from this meeting and share them with relevant departments in 31 cities and counties, while conducting working-level consultations between the province and cities and counties.