Key Highlights :
The COVID-19 pandemic has seen many retailers around the world shift their focus to online sales, but Emart, Korea's largest discount store chain, has maintained its focus on expanding its offline business. This strategy appears to be paying off, according to company officials, Wednesday. The newly renovated Emart Yeonsu branch in 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.
Emart has integrated 30 years of expertise in its retail business to upgrade its grocery section and specialty corners at its Yeonsu branch, which has 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. There is also a tuna filleting demonstration every month, as well as 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.
Emart has 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 said during his surprise visit to the Yeonsu branch on Wednesday that the company's answer to the future of its business is always in the field, where customers and products are. He said that Emart needs to constantly create reasons for customers to visit by making changes and innovations that continue to expand the scope of the customer experience.
To achieve this, Emart is focusing on store renewals as one of its key strategies. 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.
Emart's focus on offline business expansion during the COVID-19 pandemic has begun to bear results, with increased sales and visitor numbers at the Yeonsu branch. The company's strategy of providing fresh products and creating new and enjoyable experiences for customers through store renewals is a key part of its plan for sustainable growth.