Summary
CJ Group is a South Korean international conglomerate holding company in Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous businesses in various industries of food and food service, pharmaceutics and biotechnology, entertainment and media, Pager and Telephone. CJ comes from “Cheil Jedang,” which can literally mean “first sugar manufacture,” the industry where it originally started.
Notable CJ subsidiaries include CJ CheilJedang (Food and Beverage), CJ Logistics (Logistics), CJ Olive Networks (Health & Beauty Stores & IT), CJ ENM (Entertainment and Retail), and CJ CGV (Cinema Chain). The group is chaired by Lee Jay-hyun, eldest grandson of Samsung’s founder.
CJ was founded as “Cheil Jedang” in August 1955 as a sugar and flour manufacturer and was originally part of Samsung Group, as its first manufacturing business. In 1955, it opened the first flour mill in South Korea and in 1962, started exporting sugar to Okinawa, Japan. In 1965, Cheil Jedang’s sugar business was branded as “Beksul.”
In the 1970s, CJ continued its growth as a composite food company. In 1973 CJ entered into the feed business, launching “Pungnyeon Feed.” In 1975, CJ developed mass-production techniques for “Dashida,” a seasoning product, as well as technology for the mass-production of nucleic acids for the first time in South Korea in 1977, launching first market its first nucleic acid seasoning, “Imi.” In 1979, the company was renamed “Cheil Jedang Corp.” and started producing cooking oil under Beksul.
In the 1980s, CJ expanded to processed food items such as beverages and frozen foods, and entered the pharmaceutical business based on new advanced technologies. In 1984, CJ established ETI, a local subsidiary, in New Jersey, U.S. as a joint venture project In 1986 CJ’s Biotechnology & Pharmaceutics division succeeded in becoming the third in the world to develop Alpha-interferon, an anticancer medicine, as well as launching “Hepaccine-B,” a hepatitis vaccine. It established Cheil Frozen Food and launched its beverage business in 1987. With the establishment of Cheil Jedang Indonesia in 1988 and the construction of a lysine and synthetic seasoning plant in Indonesia in 1990, CJ started reaching markets outside South Korea.
In the 1990s, CJ went through periods of conversion and growth as it transitioned into the area of life and culture from focusing on the food and pharmaceutical industry. However, it continued to develop new food products such as “Condition,” a supplemental drink that alleviates hangover symptoms, in 1992 and “Hetbahn,” an aseptic packaged rice, in 1996. In July 1993, Cheil Jedang spun off from Samsung and gained independent management, changing into a life and culture group by entering into the food service and entertainment industries. In 1996 it became Cheil Jedang Group and completed its official separation from Samsung Group in February 1997.
Since then, CJ has entered into the fields of media, entertainment, finance and information & communication businesses mainly through M&As of companies such as m.net, a music cable channel, and Cheil Investment & Securities in 1997, and establishments of new subsidiaries such as Cheil Golden Village (currently CGV) in 1996, Dreamline (which was sold off in 2000), jointly with Korea Expressway in 1997, [CJ GLS] in 1998, CJ O Shopping, CJ Europe and CJ FD (standing for food distribution) in 1999. In addition, CJ opened VIPS, a family restaurant chain, in 1997, and launched South Korea’s first multiplex theater, CGV, in 1998.
In October 2002, CJ Group was launched and the official name of the company changed to CJ Co., Ltd. In September 2007, CJ Co., Ltd again spun off as a business holding company renaming to CJ CheilJedang Co., Ltd and CJ Group became a holding company for a number of food and entertainment-related subsidiaries based in South Korea. It consists of four main core businesses: Food & Food Service, Bio Pharmaceutics, Entertainment Media, and Home Shopping & Logistics. Korean billionaire Lee Jay-Hyun has been chairman of CJ Group since March 2002. His older sister Lee Mi-kyoung is the vice chairman of the company.
Starting from May 2007, CJ Group announced that it will be hiring more women in the company. It also announced that it will be doubling their allowance time for women who need to go on leave due to pregnancy (maternity leave). Korean law requires women be allowed up to 90 days of maternity leave. However, CJ has extended this time to one year.
In 2010, CJ Media, CJ Entertainment, Mnet media, On-Media and CJ Internet merged to form O Media Holdings, which became CJ E&M in March 2011. Since then, CJ E&M has been highly influential in its contribution to Korean pop culture and the “Korean Wave” (Hallyu), a phenomenon of the spread of Korean culture, through the creation of successful TV programs such as “Superstar K,” “Respond 1997,” and films such as “Masquerade.”
Since introducing the first multiplex theaters, CGV, in 1998 to South Korea, the company has been developing what it calls “cultureplex,” a space where eateries, performance halls, shops and multiplex theaters come together to provide a more rich cultural experience to consumers, CGV Cheongdam Cine City, which opened in 2011 being an example.
In July 2018, CJ E&M and CJ O Shopping merged into new company CJ ENM (CJ Entertainment and Merchandising). In August 2018, CJ CheilJedang acquired Kahiki Foods, an American food manufacturing company based in Columbus, Ohio.
CEO Lee Jay-Hyun has announced 2013 to be the start of CJ’s full-fledged global expansion efforts, setting 2020 as their goal of achieving its vision of “Great CJ.” By 2020, the conglomerate hopes to reach 100 trillion won in sales, 70 percent of which they expect will come from abroad, and to grow into the world’s No.1 at least two of its core businesses. As of 2013, CJ has penetrated into the global market throughout Japan, China, Europe, the U.S. and South America (especially Brazil).
Taking Korean food abroad, CJ Foodville has launched bakeries and restaurants globally. Starting with opening a Tous les Jours store, a bakery chain, in Los Angeles in 2004, CJ has launched the chain also in China and Vietnam, where double-digit sales growth is maintained. The first Tous Les Jours in Hanoi, Vietnam, opened in June 2012, and in December 2012, the 20th and 21st Tous les Jours opened in New Jersey and New York.
Also brands of Foodville, VIPS (steakhouse) and A Twosome Place (coffee shope) have opened stores in China and Vietnam as well as other countries in Asia. Bibigo is a Bibimbap (a traditional Korean food) restaurant which CJ planned as a global brand from the beginning, opening in Los Angeles, Beijing and Singapore since 2010. It also opened its first store in London in 2012 during the London Olympics.
Timeline
▲ 1953 = Founded as Cheil Jedang, focusing on sugar and flour manufacturing, as part of Samsung Group.
▲ 1965 = Launched Beksul, its sugar business brand.
▲ 1973–1979 = Expanded into the food industry, developing products like Dashida and entering the cooking oil market.
▲ 1984–1990 = Diversified into biotechnology and pharmaceuticals; established international presence with a subsidiary in Indonesia.
▲ 1993 = Spun off from Samsung, marking the beginning of its transformation into a life and culture group.
▲ 1996–1997 = Entered entertainment and media through acquisitions and new ventures, including CGV cinemas and Cheil Investment & Securities.
▲ 2002 = Transitioned to CJ Co., Ltd, focusing on food and entertainment.
▲ 2007 = Announced progressive gender equality measures and became a holding company, focusing on core sectors.
▲ 2010–2011 = Consolidated media and entertainment assets into CJ E&M, significantly influencing the Korean Wave.
▲ 2018 = Merged CJ E&M and CJ O Shopping into CJ ENM; acquired Kahiki Foods in the U.S.
▲ 2013 onwards = Pursued aggressive global expansion, targeting significant sales from overseas operations by 2020.
