[Exclusive] Following Pierrot Shopping... Emart Also Withdraws Fashion Select Shop 'Show & Tell'

Emart Records 'Worst' Performance Since Inception
Low-Profit Brands Undergoing Overhaul
Show & Tell Stores to Close by End of March
Sequential Closures from Department Stores to Starfield and Outlets

Show & Tell Starfield Hanam Branch

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Emart, which recorded quarterly losses twice last year for the first time since its founding, is closing its men's fashion select shop 'Show & Tell' following Pierrot Shopping. Emart explained that this was part of a store rationalization effort, but it has been confirmed that all offline stores are being closed and inventory clearance is underway.

According to industry sources on the 21st, Emart has decided to close seven offline stores of Show & Tell's 'Show & Tell Men's' over about one month starting this month. Beginning with Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam branch on the 27th of this month, all three stores including Starfield Wirye, Goyang, Hanam branches, and Shinsegae Premium Outlets Paju, Yeoju, and Busan Gijang branches will be closed by the end of March. All seven stores have announced specific closing dates and are holding farewell sales to clear remaining inventory. A Show & Tell store representative said, "We have decided to close all seven stores and are currently clearing remaining inventory through farewell sales."

Show & Tell is a men's fashion specialty select shop launched by Emart in August 2018 with the concept of a "playground for men." It sold men's clothing, accessories, figures, and other goods at affordable prices, earning a reputation as a cost-effective brand with high quality and low prices. Show & Tell also introduced its own private brand (PB) products under the same name. Show & Tell PB products are sold both offline and on Shinsegae-affiliated online mall SSG.com.

The decision to close offline stores just a year and a half after the brand's launch was driven by fundamental concerns about the business structure. Initially, Emart planned to expand specialty stores as part of its new growth engines. It developed product lines suited to the specialty store concept and diversified store openings and brands. However, efficiency became an issue. Many brands failed to establish themselves in the market, becoming the main cause of poor performance. Emart's consolidated operating profit last year was 150.7 billion KRW, down 67.4% from the previous year. Sales increased by 11.8% to 19.0629 trillion KRW, but net profit fell 53.2% to 223.8 billion KRW. Notably, Emart recorded quarterly losses twice in the second and fourth quarters for the first time in its history.

Particularly, attention is focused on the specialty store business posting an annual loss of about 90 billion KRW, prompting an urgent need for efficiency improvements. While profitable specialty stores such as the ultra-low-price store No Brand and experiential electronics store Electromart continue to expand, less profitable brands like health & beauty (H&B) store Boots are undergoing structural adjustments at the business unit level. However, even for brands with growth potential, detailed profitability analysis by region, commercial district, and store is conducted, and underperforming stores are decisively closed.

The first target of specialty store restructuring was Pierrot Shopping. Opened in 2018 with the concept of a "fun and crazy" variety store, Pierrot Shopping was considered Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin's ambitious project, reflecting his desire for various content experiments. At one point, it recorded an annual cumulative visitor count of 4.2 million, seemingly achieving success. However, high rental costs in major commercial areas and sluggish sales prevented profitability. As a result, seven stores nationwide are being sequentially closed; the Myeongdong store closed in December last year, and the Doota Mall store is holding a brand sale ahead of its closure on March 8.

Industry insiders expect Emart to undertake further restructuring of underperforming specialty stores. Currently, Emart operates specialty store brands including No Brand, Electromart, Molly's Pet Shop, Boots, Sports Big Ten, Sentense, Toy Kingdom, Maris Baby Circle, PK Market, and Life Container.

Regarding this, an Emart official stated, "The brand development direction of Show & Tell is currently under internal discussion, and business withdrawal has not been finalized," adding, "While it is true that stores in premium outlets are being prioritized for closure, no decisions have been made regarding other channels such as department stores or Starfield."