"Keep Creating Reasons to Search"... The Evolution of Large Mart Renovations

Homeplus 'Big Data Utilization for Related Product Placement'
Smarter Mega Food Market 2.0 Opens in Centum City

Emart Transforms Kintex Branch into 'The Town Mall'
Encouraging Store Visits... Evolution Focused on 'Expanding Customer Experience'

In the era of all-around competition across online and offline distribution channels, the way large supermarkets renovate their stores is also evolving. Utilizing big data from previously renovated stores, they are breaking away from traditional product display methods by placing related products together, such as 'ramyeon-instant rice,' to minimize visitor flow. At the same time, they are strengthening content that allows customers to eat and enjoy, with the core goal of 'expanding customer experience,' transforming supermarkets into 'local landmark shopping malls.'

Models are introducing the first Homeplus Mega Food Market 2.0 store in Centum City, Haeundae-gu, Busan.
[Photo by Homeplus].

Homeplus, Smart 2.0 Era with Big Data-Based Related Displays

According to the distribution industry on the 20th, Homeplus renewed and reopened its large-scale store in Busan Centum City, with a total floor area of 58,426㎡, as the first 'Homeplus Mega Food Market 2.0' store. Homeplus Mega Food Market is a 'super-large food specialty store' launched in February last year with the goal of strengthening offline large supermarkets' best capabilities in 'food' and 'experience' content to attract customers back to the store. By analyzing customer consumption data from the previously opened 18 Homeplus Mega Food Market stores, the evolved 2.0 version was created.

The core of 2.0 is 'related displays.' They expanded the range of related displays by grouping product categories that are often purchased together, such as meal kits and noodles, ramyeon and instant rice, beer and side dishes. They applied related displays without product category restrictions to maximize customer convenience. To spark interest and encourage frequent visits, they introduced more segmented world food specialty zones such as mixology zones, cocktail zones, and coffee galleries, while strengthening fresh foods and ready-to-eat foods. Specialized sections were prepared for meat (Steak House 2.0) and seafood (Fresh Fish Hall). In line with the enjoyable health management (Healthy Pleasure) trend, they also set up a Better Choice corner featuring protein, gluten-free, sugar-free snacks, organic, and whole grain cereals.

Models are introducing the 'Weekend Outing Recommended Items' corner at the Homeplus Mega Food Market 2.0 No.1 store in Centum City, Haeundae-gu, Busan.
[Photo by Homeplus].

Homeplus CEO Lee Jae-hoon considers accelerating the renovation of the advanced form of Homeplus Mega Food Market essential for this year's management keywords of 'expanding customer experience' and 'sustainable growth,' focusing the company's capabilities on the 2.0 upgrade. CEO Lee is also personally overseeing the Centum City store's renovation opening on-site with great interest.

In the 2022 fiscal year (March 2022 to February 2023), Homeplus's sales returned to an upward trend after 12 years due to investments in Mega Food Market renovations, but operating losses (260.2 billion KRW) continued. The effects of the Mega Food Market investment have become visible this year. Due to the renovation effect, the top 5 stores' sales and customer numbers from January 1 to July 10, 2023, grew by 19% and 24%, respectively, compared to the same period last year. Sales in the first quarter of the 2023 fiscal year (March to May 2023) increased by more than 7% year-on-year, and operating profit is also estimated to have recorded double-digit growth compared to the previous year. Homeplus plans to expand the 2.0 renovation to major stores such as Gangdong, expecting results in profitability this year.

The Town Mall Kintex Branch exterior
Photo by Emart.

Emart, Beyond Grocery Shopping to a Local Landmark Shopping Mall

Emart will renew its largest store, Emart Town KINTEX, with a floor area of 26,446㎡, on the 21st, unveiling it as 'The Town Mall KINTEX.' This is the third 'mall-type Emart' following Wolgye store in 2020 and Yeonsu store in March this year. They renovated the KINTEX store into a shopping mall where customers can visit anytime without hesitation and enjoy trendy restaurants and fun experiences that were lacking in Ilsan.

The number of tenants (stores) has increased fourfold to a total of 98. Food and beverage, entertainment, living, and lifestyle tenants have moved in. There are 32 food and beverage (F&B) stores, including Uncle Peter's, which offers American-style brunch, ST. 252, a brunch cafe optimized for customers with infants and toddlers, the famous Paju cafe Dirty Trunk, and dessert shops Malttong Donut and Brill. The Traders store features a food court T Cafe with 90 seats, competing on cost-effectiveness.

They also expanded stay-type content that the whole family can enjoy. In addition to Book Door (comic cafe), Playtime S (kids cafe), and Photo Slate (photo studio), GDR Golf Academy and Modern Pilates have also been introduced. Stores that offer enjoyable browsing experiences such as Olive Young, Daiso, and Artbox, as well as leisure and sports stores like Jeximix, Timberland, and Crocs, have also moved in. Unique cultural and resting spaces, which were not seen in existing Emart stores, are also strengths. The first-floor atrium serves as a resting place and a venue for programs such as pop-up stores for unique experiences. A library relaxation space with about 1,500 books on display has also been prepared.

Due to stagnation in large supermarket growth, Emart's sales in the first half of this year (January to June) recorded 8.0489 trillion KRW, a 1.6% decrease compared to the same period last year, marking a decline. To expand offline visitors, Emart focused on store renovations, especially evolving key metropolitan areas from supermarkets to malls through The Town Mall renovations. In May, Chung Yong-jin, Vice Chairman of Shinsegae Group, visited the second The Town Mall store, Yeonsu, stating, "The future of offline lies in fanatical focus on customers and spatial innovation through research," and "We will continue to expand the 'Shinsegae Universe' that provides customers with new and enjoyable experiences."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.