GS Retail, the operator of Korea’s convenience store franchise GS25, holds the largest number of stores in the southern regions of Vietnam among its five foreign peers, the company said Thursday.

According to self-reported data as of last month, a total of 211 GS25 outlets are spread across these regions, edging out the number of stores operated by foreign competitors such as Circle K and Family Mart in the same areas.

The southern regions encompass Ho Chi Minh City and its surrounding provinces of Binh Duong, Vinh Phuc, Long An, Dong Nai and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, analogous to how cities in Gyeonggi Province surround Seoul.

Since its entry in 2018, GS Retail has amassed consumer insights regarding store location development. The annual average success rate of new store launches, which indicates how closely actual sales meet predicted sales, has risen from 71 percent in 2018 to 90 percent in 2023.

Product-wise, GS25 has made a splash in the Vietnamese market with Korean-style fast food such as tteokbokki since its first launch in 2018. Earlier this year, the franchise launched skewer products such as Chicken 25, which led to an 83 percent increase in processed food sales in the first half of 2023 compared to the previous year.

Although GS Retail's Vietnamese subsidiary suffered a net loss of 7.3 billion won ($5.6 million) in the first half of 2022, GS Retail officials expressed confidence in reaching profitability by 2026 through franchise expansion.

Separate data from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency in Ho Chi Minh City last month shows that GS25 operates 213 outlets in the southern regions, with 164 based in Ho Chi Minh City and the remaining 49 spread across neighboring provinces.

In comparison, Circle K operates a larger number of 262 stores in the same regions, with 204 in Ho Chi Minh City and 58 in neighboring provinces.

However, a direct comparison between the two companies may not be entirely accurate, a local Korea Chamber of Business in Vietnam official told The Korea Herald, as Circle K runs numerous small-scale franchise stores, while GS25 mostly operates through a direct management model with larger stores and various product offerings.