Retail industry adopts 6-day workweek for executives amid declining profits, tougher competition

BGF Retail's CU convenience store at Incheon International Airport / Courtesy of BGF Retail

The retail industry has recently joined the trend of ordering executives to come to the office on Saturdays or Sundays, amid declining consumption and intensifying competition with Chinese e-commerce firms.

BGF Retail, the operator of CU convenience stores, has held executive meetings on Saturdays since July 13.

The decision was made after the company posted 32.6 billion won ($23.7 million) in first-quarter operating profit, down 11.9 percent from a year earlier. The convenience store operator’s second-quarter operating profit also dropped by 2.4 percent year-on-year to 76.2 billion won.

However, the retailer denied speculation about being in emergency mode, saying that its decision to hold executive meetings on Saturdays is intended to boost communication.

It also explained that its non-executive employees will continue to work five days a week.

“Our executives will discuss strategies to cope with uncertain business environments and rapidly changing trends in an informal atmosphere,” a BGF Retail official said.

Lotte’s executives are also said to be working six days a week “voluntarily,” after their holding company entered an emergency mode earlier this month to counteract falling profits from its retail and chemical businesses.

The conglomerate said it is considering convening executive meetings on weekends to discuss ways to overcome the crises.

Although Lotte has not officially asked for a six-day workweek, executives at the conglomerate’s department stores, supermarkets, hotels and duty-free shops are reportedly inspecting their stores on weekends.

In addition, Lotte Duty Free decided to cut payments to its executives and carry out a voluntary redundancy program.

Lotte Chemical decided to reduce its budget for business trips. The chemical firm also banned its employees from using mobile messenger services for private purposes and from leaving their stations to smoke from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

“Our emergency mode is intended to deal with the global economic recession preemptively,” a Lotte Corp. official said.

After Samsung and SK asked their executives earlier this year to work six days a week, HD Hyundai Oilbank, NongHyup Bank, Samyang Group, SsangYong C&E and Seegene followed the trend.