Franchise outlet sales jump to record high 108 tln won in 2023

SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- Sales of franchise stores in South Korea maintained strong growth, reaching a record high of over 108 trillion won (US$74 billion) last year, fueled by robust demand for food and beverage services in the post-pandemic era, the statistics agency said Tuesday.

Franchise stores recorded combined sales of 108.8 trillion won in 2023, marking an 8.4 percent increase from 100.3 trillion won in 2022, according to data from Statistics Korea.

Annual franchise sales have been steadily rising since the agency began compiling relevant data in 2013.

"Following the endemic phase, there was a notable growth in sales of restaurants and beverage-related industries, with franchise outlets taking a larger share," said Cho Yoon-koo, an agency official.

The revenues of convenience stores accounted for the largest portion of 25.6 percent at 27.9 trillion won, followed by Korean food and chicken restaurants.

The number of franchise outlets reached 301,000 as of end-2023, up 5.2 percent from a year earlier, the data showed.

Food and beverage franchise outlets saw their numbers grow by a double-digit figure, partly driven by the continued rise in demand for home delivery services.

The franchise stores employed a combined workforce of 1.02 million as of December 2023, a 7.4 percent increase compared with the previous year, the data showed.

khj@yna.co.kr
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