'10 Years in Mongolia': E-Mart Races to Expand, Opening Its 7th and 8th Stores This Year

From Grocery Shopping to Leisure, All Under One Roof
A Multipurpose Shopping Space Tailored to Local Lifestyles
E-Mart and No Brand Expand on Two Fronts

Marking 10 years since entering Mongolia, E-Mart is expanding its local retail network. To mark the anniversary, it is opening stores one after another and plans to increase the number of No Brand specialty stores, first introduced this year, to seven by year-end. As more local consumers seek Korean products, the company is expanding its sales network from hypermarkets to small- and medium-sized stores and specialty shops.

E-Mart said on October 29 that it will open its seventh store in Mongolia at UG Arena, a sports and cultural complex in the capital, Ulaanbaatar. Next month, it will open its eighth store at Ulaanbaatar Department Store. It also plans to increase the number of No Brand specialty stores, which first entered Mongolia this July, to seven by the end of the year.

Exterior view of Mongolia's seventh E-Mart store. Courtesy of E-Mart.

Medium-Sized Stores Move Into Urban Centers

The seventh store will occupy 3,272 square meters (about 990 pyeong) on the first floor of UG Arena's commercial complex. It is E-Mart's third medium-sized store, following its second store, which opened in 2017, and its sixth, which opened last year. E-Mart said, "We have adapted our store format to the characteristics of each commercial area and the needs of local customers," adding, "Medium-sized stores require less time to secure a site and prepare for opening than larger stores."

UG Arena is a multipurpose complex that hosts basketball and volleyball games, concerts and exhibitions. Apartment complexes and offices are concentrated nearby. E-Mart believes the store can serve both nearby residents and office workers shopping for groceries, as well as visitors attending sports events and performances.

The store will focus on groceries, with a dedicated No Brand area at the entrance. Its offerings will include Korean food, meal kits, beer and wine, cut fruit and freshly squeezed drinks. It has also expanded its range of sportswear and sporting goods to cater to visitors to the sports facilities. Korean food and beverage brands specializing in coffee, tea and bakery products, as well as fashion, cosmetics and lifestyle service stores, will also move in. A rest area of about 83 square meters (25 pyeong) has been set up in the center.

E-Mart entered the Mongolian market in 2016 in partnership with the local Altai Group. It operates under a master franchise arrangement, granting a local company the right to use its brand and providing operational know-how in return for royalties. The local partner invests in and operates the stores, while E-Mart contributes its brand and product competitiveness.

The store network began with the Chinggis store in July 2016, followed by the Khoroloo store in September 2017 and the Hyangul store in September 2019. The Bayangol store opened in 2023, the Dragon Terminal store in 2024 and the Tengger store last year. E-Mart has diversified its store formats to meet demand in different commercial areas, from large stores of about 13,554 square meters (4,100 pyeong) to small stores of about 1,091 square meters (330 pyeong).

E-Mart has also continued investing in the local operating company. According to its semiannual report, E-Mart acquired an additional approximately 241,000 shares of Sky Hypermarket for KRW 371 million in the first half of this year. Its holdings increased from about 3.36 million shares at the end of last year to about 3.601 million shares at the end of June this year. Its ownership stake remained at 9.2%, while the book value of its stake rose from KRW 6.743 billion to KRW 7.114 billion.

Mongolia's population structure and consumer environment underpin the strategy of diversifying store formats. Of the country's population of about 3.5 million, roughly 1.7 million are concentrated in Ulaanbaatar. With long winters and severe traffic congestion in the city, demand is strong for "one-stop shopping" that combines grocery shopping, dining and leisure activities. E-Mart is attracting customers to its large stores while targeting demand in residential neighborhoods through small- and medium-sized stores. According to E-Mart, sales at its Mongolian stores rose 19% last year from the previous year. The company expects double-digit growth this year as well.

Exports of Korean products are also growing. Last year, South Korea's exports to Mongolia totaled $660.462 million (about KRW 885 billion), more than triple the $208.71 million (about KRW 279.7 billion) recorded in 2016.

10 Years in Mongolia: No Brand Targets 50 Stores Within 10 Years

No Brand is expanding its business by focusing on specialty stores. Annual sales in Mongolia of No Brand products sold through existing E-Mart stores exceeded KRW 10 billion last year. Sales of more than KRW 12 billion are expected this year. After opening its first specialty store near Ulaanbaatar City Hall in July, the company opened a second one early this month. It plans to open five more by year-end.

E-Mart plans to increase the number of No Brand specialty stores in Mongolia to 15 by 2028 and build a dedicated logistics cluster. In the longer term, it aims to expand the network to 50 stores within 10 years, extending its reach beyond Ulaanbaatar to all of Mongolia.

Kang Youngseok E-Mart's head of overseas business said, "Building on the strong trust and know-how we have developed in Mongolia over the past 10 years, we are successfully expanding our business from large stores to small- and medium-sized stores and No Brand specialty stores. We will continue to introduce shopping spaces tailored to local customers' lifestyles and the characteristics of each commercial area, further strengthening our position in Mongolia's retail market." 

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