GS25 Introduces Industry's First Luxury Permanent Store
Emart24 Expands Apple Genuine Accessories Stores
[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] The formula 'convenience store = low-priced products' is breaking down, and new-concept convenience stores equipped with luxury products are increasing.
Convenience Stores Selling Luxury Goods Regularly... Apple 'AirPods Pro' Promotion
On the 29th, according to the related industry, GS25, a convenience store operated by GS Retail, is partnering with Adorelux, a company specializing in parallel imports and overseas direct delivery of luxury goods, to introduce a luxury product display at the 'GS25 Parnas Tower Branch' located in Samseong-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. This is the first time in the convenience store industry to start regular in-store sales instead of seasonal gift sets or catalog order methods.
The luxury products sold at GS25 this time include 11 items such as 'Gucci clutch bag,' 'Burberry crossbody bag,' 'Saint Laurent monogram bracelet,' 'Montblanc Meisterst?ck LeGrand fountain pen,' and 'Bottega Veneta Intrecciato Napa wallet.' The product lineup will change once a month. Free shipping is also available, and customers can receive telecom discounts and GS&POINT rewards upon purchase. Through a QR code in the store, customers can listen to product explanations via 'KakaoTalk Plus Friend.' For after-sales service (AS), the process is handled after confirming the purchase history through the KakaoTalk channel.
The first experimental store, GS25 Parnas Tower Branch, is located in Parnas Tower connected to the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, a differentiated location store mainly visited by business visitors and hotel guests. Due to the impact of COVID-19, which made duty-free shopping difficult, the store sells brand products such as fountain pens and wallets for business purposes.
Emart24 is also holding an event to commemorate 'Korea SSG Day' until the 31st of this month, offering a basic 40,000 KRW discount to customers who purchase 'Apple AirPods Pro' at 20 Emart24 stores operating Apple genuine accessories. An additional 20,000 KRW discount applies when paying with KB Kookmin Card, and KT membership points can be used up to 20,000 KRW. The price is reduced from the regular 329,000 KRW to 249,000 KRW after an 80,000 KRW discount.
Along with this, Emart24 is reflecting the craze for limited edition goods mainly among the MZ generation (a combination of Millennials and Generation Z) by partnering with Dongwon Tuna to give away a 'Dongwon Tuna AirPods Pro Case Limited Edition' to the first 2,000 customers. Customers can enter the event by collecting stamps after purchasing four times from over 20 Dongwon Tuna products at Emart24 stores nationwide.
Easy Purchase Near Home and Hotels
The convenience store industry's decision to break down distribution boundaries and strengthen product assortment was driven by a strategic judgment that there is sufficient demand from convenience store customers for premium products.
In fact, GS25 has sold high-end yachts and imported cars worth up to 300 million KRW, wines worth hundreds of thousands of KRW, pure gold, and luxury miscellaneous goods through catalogs to meet customers' needs for special gifts. Based on the increasing sales of premium high-priced products and accumulated sales data every year, they confirmed customers' demand for luxury purchases and decided to promote regular luxury sales this time.
The number of stores operating relatively high-priced Apple genuine accessories is also increasing. Since the end of August, Emart24 introduced the first Apple genuine accessory operating store in a Korean convenience store at Emart24 Seongsu Naknak Branch in Seongsu-dong, and as of October, the number of stores has expanded to 20, including 11 in Seoul, 2 in Gyeonggi, 1 in Daejeon, 3 in Daegu, 2 in Busan, and 1 in Gwangju. The products handled include 12 items such as 'AirPods Pro,' 'AirPods,' 'Apple Pencil,' 'EarPods,' adapters, and cables.
Joo Mi-seon, GS Retail Life Living Product Planner (MD), said, "Going forward, GS25 will continue to elevate the store's class with various differentiated products that match the value consumption trend and strengthen competitiveness as a lifestyle platform."
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