Korea’s GS25 To Enter Malaysian Convenience Store Market With KK Group

Retail convenience store operator GS Retail signed an agreement with Malaysian retail conglomerate KK Group to bring the franchise into the Malaysian market. Under the master franchise agreement, GS25 will open its first store in Malaysia next year, which KK Group will operate on GS Retail’s behalf. The Korean convenience store chain plans to launch as many as 550 stores within five years. 

KK Group presently operates 610 KK Mart local convenience stores and other food-related businesses such as KK Food Court and K3 Coffee Lab in Malaysia in addition to other businesses, such as hotels and resorts. 

GS Retail sees big potential in the Malaysian market due to its relatively young population where the average age of the country's population is 28.5 years. The leading South Korean convenience store chain also aims to tap into the resilient Malaysian fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector that is projected to grow with the rising spending power and population size as well as the rapidly growing convenience store industry that has been growing by 10% annually. “Among Southeast Asian countries, Malaysia has the most advanced system for operating convenience stores and the greatest need to boost the business,” said an official of the company.

GS25’s entry into Malaysia marks the third arrival of a Korean convenience brand into the country after CU partnered with Mynews Holdings and E-mart24 with United Frontiers Holdings (UFH).

“We will offer food delivery service and other parcel deliveries with the cheapest rates like we do in Korea,” the company said.

GS Retail plans to offer various services already available at Korean branches. One is Woodil, a local delivery service that delivers GS25 products within an hour. In addition, its half-priced delivery service will also be offered. The service delivers parcels from one branch to another using the convenience store’s delivery trucks but at half the price of other logistics services. The retail chain also plans to bring meal kits from SimplyCook and food items sold by Cookat, both brands run by subsidiaries of GS Retail.

Malaysia is GS25’s third overseas market for the Korean convenience store after entering Vietnam in 2018 and Mongolia in 2021.