South Korean convenience stores have continued to thrive on the rising popularity of ready-made meals and various items among single-person households despite lackluster domestic consumption, industry data showed Monday.
  

The stores that sell food and daily necessities in smaller quantities and stay open 24 hours have emerged as a key retail outlet in the country, expanding far more than bigger and traditional retail channels.
  

The top three players -- GS Retail, BGF Retail and 7-Eleven -- logged modest growth in sales after opening about 2,000 new stores this year, raising the combined number of stores to nearly 26,000, according to the data compiled by the companies.
  

GS Retail, the operator of GS 25, posted 3.5 trillion won ($3.11 billion) in sales in the first nine months of the year, up 36 percent from a year ago.
  

BGF Retail's revenue jumped 28.8 percent on-year to 3.15 trillion won in the January-September period, while 7-Eleven's sales rose 26.4 percent to 2.5 trillion won, their financial statement showed.
  

Local convenience stores have introduced their own store brands, known in the country as "private brands," which have an edge over traditional and multinational labels in terms of price and costs.
  

They have also been shifting away from their conventional product mix of instant food and drinks to non-food items to foster loyal customers, while the hike in cigarette prices in January also improved their margins, according to officials.
  

While the ballooning number of stores contributes to the expansion of the convenience store market, shop owners say they are under tougher competition against each other, now visible on almost every street and alleyway across the nation.  (Yonhap)