Invest1 publisher2 min readPublished
GS25's North American sales more than doubled as Greater China's lead shrank to 10 points
GS Retail said GS25's sales to North American customers rose 130.9% in January-August, lifting the region to a record of about 30% of foreign sales. Greater China still leads at about 40%, and the gain sits on top of faster growth in convenience-store sales per foreign arrival at all four big chains.
The Investor · Invest desk
What happened
- In Gangwon State, where Greater China led GS25's foreign sales through last year, North American sales jumped 337.8% this year to take the top spot.
- Industry data released on Sept. 5 showed 2025 foreign-customer sales up 101.2% at CU, 74.2% at GS25, 60% at 7-Eleven and 38% at emart24.
- Visitors to South Korea rose to 19.84 million in 2025 from 16.36 million in 2024.
- CU has taken a 38-language AI interpretation service to more than 70 stores in tourist districts such as Myeong-dong and Hongdae.
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Why it matters
- exposure With about 70% of GS25's foreign-customer sales now coming from two regions, a travel slowdown from either North America or Greater China would reach most of that revenue.
- decision Assortment becomes a store-level decision, since North American shoppers lead every foreign region in canned beer while Greater China shoppers lean toward dairy, noodles and bakery.
- cost A customer mix leaning further toward English speakers means paying for translation in stores, and GS25 has started adding English to its in-store promotions.
Run North America's record share backwards and last year's January-August sales at GS25 come to about 13% of this year's foreign total [2]. GS Retail disclosed the share [2] but not how fast the chain's total foreign sales grew over those eight months. Daishin Securities, in a Sept. 12 report, put foreign sales growth across the convenience-store industry at more than 60% in the second quarter [6]. If GS25's total grew at that pace, North America held about 21% of the chain's foreign sales a year earlier and has gained about nine points since [3]. Its growth ran at roughly twice the industry's second-quarter rate, though the periods do not line up exactly [8].
The bigger change started earlier, and it is about spending per visitor, or rather spending per arrival, since the public figures count sales to foreign customers on one side and visitors on the other. Arrivals rose about 21% in 2025 [1], less than any of the four chains' growth in foreign-customer sales. Divide one by the other and GS25 took in about 44% more per arrival, CU about 66% more and emart24, the slowest of the four, about 14% more [4][5]. According to the Sedaily report, group tours used to concentrate their spending at duty-free shops, and independent travelers have turned convenience stores into places to try everyday Korean food [14].
Arrivals are still rising. The 15.05 million counted through August is about 76% of last year's total, with two-thirds of the year gone [6].
The case for caution starts with the base. A region worth about 13% of this year's total a year ago could post triple-digit growth on modest sums [2], and from today's share the same rate takes far more money. Greater China also remains the larger customer group [3]. And the regional figures come from GS25 alone [1].
I think the shift at GS25 is real, and Gangwon is the best evidence for it. North American gains there were sharpest in east-coast tourist towns such as Sokcho, Yangyang and Gangneung [10], while Greater China spending clusters in Jeju, Seoul and Busan [11]. The counter-case is that the base effect applies to one province with more force than to a whole chain. The view is wrong if North America's share stalls near 30% while arrivals keep climbing, because that would show the January-August jump was a one-time catch-up from a small base.
What to watch
- GS Retail's total foreign-sales growth for January-August; the figure would replace the industry-rate assumption behind the 21% prior-share estimate.
- A regional split from CU, 7-Eleven or emart24 showing whether the North American gain holds outside GS25.
- Whether arrivals for the rest of 2026 keep the pace set through August, since 2025's chain growth rested on both more visitors and higher spending per visitor.