“Employees learn their job while receiving money when they join the company, but we have to learn by spending money as soon as we start a company. So, rather than indiscriminately starting a business, you need to understand the business first.” Park Jin-hyeong (33), who runs GS25
convenience store in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, became the owner of a convenience store at the age of 28. Mr. Park, who has been keeping the convenience store open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for five years, said, “I was confident in doing well, and I still have no regrets.” did.
Convenience store stocks in their 20s continue to rise… ‘Familiar Industry’
In an interview with E-Daily on the 20th, Mr. Park explained the reason for starting the business, saying, “I worked part-time in a restaurant related industry that I majored in at university, but I decided that a convenience store was better in terms of business prospects.”
In fact, the number of convenience store startups by young people in their 20s like Park continues to increase. According to
GS Retail (007070), the proportion of franchisees in their 20s among new stores opened by convenience store GS25 recorded 13.7% in 2021 and 15.8% in 2022, followed by 17.1% in the first half of this year. In the convenience store CU of
BGF Retail (282330), the proportion of franchise owners in their 20s increased by double digits from 3.7% in 2018 to 10.3% in 2021, and reached 17.1% as of July this year. This means that about two out of 10 convenience stores are run by young people in their 20s. One of the reasons for the increase in youth entrepreneurship is ‘familiarity’.
Mr. Park advised that starting a business should not be approached with the familiarity of using a convenience store or part-time job experience. He said, “The steady experience of working at least one day a week at a convenience store run by my parents for eight years since I was 20 has become a stable foundation for starting a business.” “We have to analyze the floating population and worry about increasing the number of regular customers, and we have to decide which products to order out of 2,700 types of products in what proportion and how to display them,” he said. “In startups, understanding the business is more important than speed. do,” he said.
Mr. Park said, “Convenience stores are places that give you little happiness. Office workers are comforted by a can of beer after work, and children like cute key chains. I find it rewarding to give small joy to customers while facing them in person offline rather than online,” he laughed.
“It’s rewarding and profitable, but… That’s how hard it is”
25-year-old Lee Yu-jeong also opened a CU convenience store in Gangdong-gu, Seoul in May of last year while working part-time at a convenience store while contemplating starting a business.
Mr. Lee said, “I found out too late that it is not easy to find a job even after graduating from college, and that it is difficult to earn money as much as I work. did. It is characteristic of store owners in their twenties that they try to increase their expected profits through business rather than living as salarymen through narrow employment doors.
Mr. Lee said that after gaining experience working part-time at three major convenience stores, he learned how to operate 스포츠토토a convenience store in earnest while working for a store owner in his early 30s. He said, “I saved up the start-up expenses with a part-time job. He told his parents about his thoughts on starting a business, and said that it would be a valuable experience in life, and they lent some of the start-up expenses and supported him.” Recognized for being ‘kind’ enough that a construction site worker, who was a regular customer a year ago, deliberately took it back, Mr. Lee hinted, “I have a better income than my peers who go to work.”
But there are definitely difficulties with work.
Mr. Lee said, “It is true that it is physically difficult because even if business is going well, you have to stock up on things often and have to be ready to work if a part-time job suddenly fails.” At the same time, he said, “I have to put in orders every day, so I haven’t been able to go on vacation or travel for a day since founding.” “I am satisfied with my current life, but it is true that it is not easy to recommend it to my friends.
He also advised that it is important to deal with so-called ‘true guests’ who are difficult to deal with, such as drunken guests. They said, “There are many times when young people, such as college students, work alone late at night. They are always exposed to the risk of drunkenness and other acts,” he said, emphasizing the need for protection for convenience store workers.
Expectations for young convenience store owners in their 20s are high in the industry.
An official from GS Retail said, “Store owners in their twenties operate social networking service ( SNS ) accounts for each store and actively attract customers online and offline.” did. “Convenience store start-ups will be more active with start-up support programs for business owners in their 20s,” he predicted.