[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The 'droplet-blocking masks,' which had been sold out nationwide, are expected to become widely available at large supermarkets and convenience stores across the country starting in July, easing the supply shortage.
According to the distribution industry on the 30th, from the 1st of next month, droplet-blocking masks will be available for purchase at nationwide convenience stores such as Lotte Mart, CU, 7-Eleven, and Emart24. CU will begin selling the 'Wellkips Untact Light Mask' (5-pack, 3,000 KRW) at over 14,000 stores nationwide starting July 1.
7-Eleven will also sell Wellkips droplet-blocking masks at about 10,000 stores nationwide from July 1, and on the 3rd, will introduce two additional types of 'Nepure Droplet-Blocking Masks' in large and small sizes (5-pack each, 4,500 KRW). The masks sold at 7-Eleven include a total of 16 types: 3 droplet-blocking masks, 3 KF series masks, and 10 general masks.
The droplet-blocking masks sold at Emart24 are 'Wellkips' (5-pack, 3,000 KRW) and 'Air Queen' (2-pack, 1,950 KRW), with unit prices of 600 KRW and 975 KRW respectively. They have prepared a total of 1 million masks for the first week of July, including 300,000 Wellkips and 700,000 Air Queen masks, and plan to increase supply depending on sales trends.
Lotte Mart will sequentially sell 160,000 Wellkips droplet-blocking masks at about 100 stores nationwide starting July 1. They will be sold in boxes of 5 masks (2,500 KRW), with a purchase limit of one box per person. Homeplus will start sales from the 6th, and although specific sales plans have not yet been announced, it is expected to impose purchase limits per person.
An industry insider said, "Although the stock of droplet-blocking masks is not yet sufficient, each mask manufacturer is steadily increasing production volume," adding, "We are making every effort to secure supply to prevent another mask shortage."
With masks becoming available at easily accessible convenience stores, the renewed 'mask shortage' is expected to disappear. Emart began selling droplet-blocking masks at 20 stores nationwide from the 24th, limiting sales to 100 boxes per day (20 masks per box) and one box per person. However, demand exceeded supply, resulting in long lines from early morning.
From the 25th, GS Retail also sold droplet-blocking masks at GS25 and GS The Fresh stores, but limited store availability and quantities caused scarcity. Online secondhand trading sites also saw transactions at prices more than twice the normal price.
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