CU to start offering on-foot delivery service

An on-foot delivery man uses his mobile navigation service to deliver items to a customer after picking them up at a CU convenience store. [BGF RETAIL]

BGF Retail’s CU convenience store franchise on Monday rolled out an on-foot delivery service in partnership with MG Playing.

When a delivery order is received on the Yogiyo delivery app, an employee from MG Playing, a company specialized in on-foot delivery services, within a 1-kilometer (0.6-mile) radius is assigned to deliver the product to the customer from the convenience store or other affiliated stores. If an MG Playing employee is not found within five minutes, an employee from a regular delivery company partnered with CU and Yogiyo takes the order instead.

MG Playing has been carrying out the service since 2019, providing delivery services for food chains including Paris Baguette, Dunkin’ and Baskin Robbins. The company is now affiliated with about 3,000 local stores.

CU is planning to implement the service at 1,000 convenience stores by the end of this month and expand it nationwide starting in November.

Since integrating Yogiyo into its business last year, CU has been forming partnerships with more companies to expand its portfolio of delivery agencies and introduce the 24-hour delivery service.

“In order to safely deliver the increased volume of orders, CU held hands with a company that can share its expertise and system,” said Jo Sung-hae, head of BGF Retail’s e-commerce team. “Going forward, CU will continue to understand a wide range of consumer needs to provide a service with a competitive edge in this growing industry for delivery service.”

In August, GS25 launched an on-foot delivery service called Woodel. While it is similar to CU’s initiative, ordinary people that are not associated with delivery companies take on the orders.

BY LEE JEE-YOUNG [lee.jeeyoung1@joongang.co.kr]