Emart showcases future of offline retail store

Emart's Yeonsu branch in Incheon / Courtesy of Emart

By Kim Jae-heun

While many retailers have followed global trends by going online during COVID-19, Emart has focused on expanding its offline business. This has begun to bear results, according to company officials, Wednesday.

Korea's largest discount store chain's newly renovated branch in Yeonsu District, Incheon, saw its sales jump 18 percent and the number of visitors went up 23 percent in the first month after reopening, from the same period last year. The store opened on March 30.

Emart has integrated 30 years of expertise in its retail business to upgrade its grocery section and specialty corners at its Yeonsu branch, which played a key role in attracting more customers than before.

In the grocery section, the store adopts smart farm technology to cultivate its own vegetables so as to provide the freshest products to customers. Also, every month, there is a tuna filleting demonstration for curious visitors.

There are also a Kids Bounce, an indoor play area for children and a gift shop for Shinsegae's professional baseball team, the SSG Landers, which is a replica of the players' locker room. Shinsegae is the parent company of Emart.

Emart also invited 25 popular restaurants and coffee shops in Seoul and Suwon, from Gyeonggi Province, to open new stores at its Yeonsu branch, which are some of the first ones in Incheon. Nearly 90 percent of the seats there are occupied on weekdays and long waiting lines occur on the weekend, according to Emart.

Shinsegae Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin looks around the seafood section at Emart's Yeonsu branch in Incheon, during his surprise visit on Wednesday. Courtesy of Emart

“The company's answer (to the future of its business) is always in the field, where our customers and products are. The field is the starting point for Shinsegae Group's strategic initiative for sustainable growth,” Shinsegae Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin said during his surprise visit to the Yeonsu branch on Wednesday.

Emart's Yeonsu branch, along with Wolgye store in northern Seoul, is a typical hybrid store that strengthened attractions and experience content for its customers.

Every year, the company is renewing its stores across the country to increase the competitiveness of its offline business. Starting with the Wolgye branch, it renovated nine in 2020, 19 in 2021 and eight last year. This year, Emart will open another renewed store at the KINTEX building in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province, in July, followed by its Yeonsu branch.

“The future of offline business lies in spatial innovation through enthusiastic focus on customers and research,” Chung said. “We need to constantly create reasons for customers to visit Emart through changes and innovations that continue to expand the scope of the customer experience. We will continue to expand the Shinsegae universe, which provides new and enjoyable experiences to our customers. To achieve it, we will focus on store renewals as one of our key strategies.”