CU convenience store opens 600th outlet in Mongolia, a first for Korean retail

Convenience store chain CU announced Thursday it has opened its 600th outlet in a single overseas market — a first in South Korean retail history — roughly eight years after becoming the first Korean convenience store brand to enter Mongolia in 2018.

The 600th store, the Hotagt-Undursum branch, sits in Bulgan Province about 600 kilometers west of the capital Ulaanbaatar. The roadside store spans about 281 square meters (85 pyeong, where 1 pyeong equals 3.3 square meters) and serves tourists and truck drivers with shower facilities. It is also the first convenience store in Mongolia to install solar power generation equipment and an electric vehicle charging station. The amenities were inspired by the warm reception CU received after installing open-access restrooms at most of its Mongolian stores to serve customers in areas lacking basic social infrastructure.

The store also features a dedicated space for selling locally sourced food products, promoting coexistence with the surrounding community — an approach that aligns with the Mongolian government's eco-friendly and community-partnership policies. Mongolian Prime Minister Nyam-Osor Ochiral said he would "use eco-friendly stores like CU's Hotagt-Undursum branch — what we call Green Stations — as the standard for retail outlets nationwide."

CU entered the Mongolian market in 2018 through a master franchise agreement with Premium Nexus Group, making it the first Korean convenience store brand to do so. The store count has grown consistently, from 21 outlets in the first year to 441 in 2024 and 541 in 2025, surpassing 600 in June. The expansion has extended beyond Ulaanbaatar to 16 other regions across Mongolia.

CU has also steadily built up its product lineup. The chain introduced coffee culture to Mongolia through its "get Coffee" brand and raised the profile of Korean food with its instant smoothie offerings. Traditional Mongolian items — including buuz, a steamed dumpling, and khuushuur, a fried mandu — have been developed into packaged products as well. To meet strong local demand for K-beauty, CU has opened more than 50 K-beauty specialty stores and produces and exports a CU Mongolia-exclusive sheet mask as part of its localization strategy.

Infrastructure investment has kept pace with the store rollout. Premium Nexus built a ready-meal food center capable of producing 80,000 meals and last year expanded its ambient-temperature distribution center to two facilities. The company has also applied South Korea's digital picking system to its local logistics centers and introduced BGF's global IT system to improve operational efficiency.

CU continues to pursue a range of ESG (environmental, social and governance) initiatives. Since 2011, it has partnered with UNICEF Korea on a coin-collection campaign to fund the installation of eco-friendly, high-efficiency ger (traditional Mongolian dwellings) and improve children's educational environments. The chain has also launched a tree-planting program to combat desertification in Mongolia and introduced "Eye CU," a reporting system for preventing child disappearances and abuse.

Jin Young-ho, head of BGF Retail's product and overseas business division, said that over the past eight years, "CU, together with our partner Premium Nexus, has established itself as more than a place to buy products — it has become a lifestyle platform that transforms everyday life and culture." He added that the company would continue to "embrace diverse social values, including food innovation, eco-friendly infrastructure and community coexistence."

Meanwhile, CU became the first convenience store brand in the industry to surpass 800 stores globally in April. Beyond Mongolia, it currently operates 184 stores in Malaysia, 65 in Kazakhstan and three in Hawaii.