Korea’s first hypermarket, EMART, has rapidly grown as a major shopping destination for daily consumer goods, beginning with its first store in Changdong. The number of EMART stores exceeded 100 when it acquired Wal-Mart Korea in 2006. Currently, the brand operates 156 domestic stores (including EMART Traders, as of 2015). Overseas, it operates eight stores in China, one store in Vietnam and plans to grow their global operations with various business models such as franchises and merchandise exports. Its major businesses are divided into EMART, the first and the largest hypermarket in Korea; EMART Traders, a wholesale discount store; and category killer stores responding to lifestyle changes and sophisticated customer needs. These stores include Daiz, the nation’s leading fast fashion brand, Molly’s Pet Shop, a one-stop service destination for pet lovers, Electro Mart, an experiential specialty store for consumer electronics, and Maison Ticia, a lifestyle store.
EMART boasts nationwide logistics and delivery systems, enabling low cost operations. It opened EMART Meat Center and EMART Fresh Center, equipped with cutting-edge facilities, in 2011 and 2012, respectively. EMART Meat Center allows the brand to supply the highest-quality livestock products at low prices by contracting farms and simplifying the distribution process. EMART Fresh Center is dedicated to stabilising the supply and prices of agro-fishery products by reducing the number of distribution stages through direct sourcing. They are also expanding their global sourcing to offer a wide array of overseas products including food, grocery, household and fashion at reasonable prices. Led by their offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Ho Chi Minh City, they have directly sourced KRW593.8 billion (£425m/US$520m/€470m) worth of products from over 800 companies in 56 countries (as of 2015), and plan to progressively increase its volume.
EMART Mall is an online business that utilises EMART stores as fulfilment centres. As an online shopping mall that delivers EMART store products to customers’ doors, it selects and packs online-ordered products and delivers them at desired times by designated vehicles with freezer and refrigerator compartments. It also continues to expand its specialised services such as five-minute quick shopping, which has received great response. EMART Mall has positioned itself as the leading online mart in Korea. The brand built Korea’s first fulfilment centre dedicated to online shopping to innovate their delivery infra-structures. Going forward, the brand will continue to create a culture of more diverse and innovative shopping in line with SSG.COM.