South Korea’s internet giant Naver Corp. that has recently emerged as a major player in the country’s retail sector has joined hands with convenience store chain CU to develop a next-generation Online-To-Offline (O2O) commerce platform to bring innovation to convenience store operation.

Naver and BGF Retail Co., the operator of CU convenience stores, on Thursday signed a business partnership agreement to promote O2O service platform business.

Under the agreement, Naver and BGF Retail will develop various O2O services, actively utilize digital solutions such as Naver Pay, cloud service, and artificial intelligence to upgrade retail outlet operation, establish next-generation convenience stores fully backed by future technologies, and develop mutual franchise models.

The latest partnership, in particular, will allow Naver to move a step closer to becoming a retail giant in the country with both online and offline sectors. The portal giant has been expanding its presence in the country’s retail market with its popular online shopping platform that boasts of “price search” and “simple payment” services and partnerships with offline retail players operators across the board including Hyundai Department Store, Homeplus, GS Retail, and Logistics.

In details, Naver and BGF will fully utilize the former’s information technology (IT) solutions and the latter’s knowhow in operating hybrid convenience stores to build a futuristic convenience store model. They also plan to expand product sales channel by linking online and offline channels and introduce new services to attract new customer base.

Lee Keon-jun, chief executive of BGF Retail, said that CU will be in the lead in bringing converged innovation with Naver and providing optimum convenience to customers and seek franchise growth.

Han Seong-sook, chief executive of Naver, said that it will test various innovations with BGF Retail to stay ahead amid rapid changes in retail business landscape and convergence of online and offline shopping experiences.

Shares of Naver closed 6.51 percent at 343,500 won ($311.28) on Friday.

By Kim Gi-jung and Lee Eun-joo

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]