Beijing: BGF Retail Co., the operator of the prominent South Korean convenience store chain CU, announced its collaboration with a Chinese retail firm to introduce CU’s private brand (PB) products in China. The company revealed this development on Thursday, highlighting a strategic move to expand its market reach beyond South Korea.

According to Yonhap News Agency, BGF Retail has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ningshing UBAY. This partnership aims to launch CU’s PB products on Chinese online and offline commerce platforms through Ningshing. Despite not operating any CU convenience stores in China, BGF Retail sees this as a significant step towards increasing its international presence.

BGF Retail has set an ambitious goal of generating US$50 million in exports of CU PB products by 2030, building on the momentum of surpassing $10 million in exports this year alone. As part of its global expansion strategy, BGF Retail has already extended its CU convenience store business to Mongolia, Malaysia, and Kazakhstan, with plans to open a CU outlet in Hawaii next month.

Currently, BGF Retail operates 721 CU outlets in these three countries, complementing a vast network of approximately 18,600 locations in South Korea. The company is also focused on expanding its network to 500 outlets in Mongolia this year and aims to establish 500 outlets each in Malaysia and Kazakhstan by 2028 and 2029, respectively.