Membership at Department Store Food Halls? ... "There Are Also Professional Nutritionists"

Industry-First 'Shinsegae Prime' High-Quality Food Membership Discounts
Experts in Livestock and Health Onsite... Local Word-of-Mouth Restaurants Also Included

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Shinsegae Department Store is stationing nutritionists and livestock experts in its food hall to provide personalized services tailored to customer preferences and demands. It is also introducing the industry's first paid membership service exclusively for the food hall. The goal is to elevate the status of the food hall by introducing department store-exclusive services that differentiate it from large supermarkets.

Customer Customized Service

On the 7th, Shinsegae Department Store Gyeonggi Branch announced that it relocated its food hall from the basement 1st floor to the basement 2nd floor, renewing it to approximately 3,300 square meters and hosting over 100 brands.

The newly launched Gyeonggi Branch food hall features experts stationed in each section such as livestock, cooking, and health, providing services tailored to customer preferences and demands.

At the meat section, a Shinsegae buyer certified as a Hanwoo Maechamin selects and sells high-quality Hanwoo beef purchased directly through auctions at Eumseong, the largest Hanwoo livestock market in Korea. Additionally, a resident livestock expert customizes the premium raw meat by cuts according to customer requests.

At the health store edit shop 'Wellness Care,' a professional manager with nutritionist certification offers consultations and recommends optimal supplements for each individual customer. Shinsegae exclusively introduces a corner where the supplement brand 'GNC' provides genetic testing-based diagnostics and nutrition solutions.

Recognizing that the main customer base of the Gyeonggi Branch food hall is people in their 50s and 60s, many famous side dish stores popular among housewives, such as 'Dorikkaechim' and 'Jeong Mi-kyung Kitchen,' have been included. From 2018 to 2020, food sales among the 50-60 age group have grown by 5% annually. At 'HMR Kitchen,' customers can taste and purchase representative restaurant meal replacement (RMR) products made by famous restaurants nationwide.

There are also regional restaurants that Shinsegae buyers personally scouted and introduced for the first time in the distribution industry. Restaurants popular among younger customers such as 'Donkatsu Yoonseok (Pork Cutlet)' and 'Ilhosik (Home-style Meal)' as well as 'Isu Tongdak (Chicken),' 'Omokjip (Jokbal),' and 'Chickpeas (Salad)' are being introduced to the Gyeonggi commercial area for the first time.

Industry-First Paid Food Membership

To coincide with the Gyeonggi Branch renewal opening, Shinsegae will launch the industry's first paid food hall membership service called 'Shinsegae Prime' starting at the end of this month. The service will expand to other stores beginning with the Gyeonggi Branch. By paying an annual fee of 55,000 KRW, members can enjoy benefits such as 10-40% discounts on fresh food membership items, an additional 3% discount, and welcome gifts equivalent to the membership fee. The strategy is to provide differentiated services to loyal customers who prefer Shinsegae's food hall while allowing customers to experience the department store's high-quality fresh food products.

Previously, Shinsegae Gyeonggi Branch renovated its sports hall, popular among the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z), in November last year, followed by a complete refurbishment of the 6th floor lifestyle specialty hall into living content in February this year. The basement 2nd floor food hall is also composed of unprecedented, bold merchandise planning (MD). The basement 1st floor, where the previous food hall was located, will be renewed and introduced as a luxury brand hall connected to the ground 1st floor store.

Park Soon-min, manager of Shinsegae Department Store Gyeonggi Branch, said, "The Gyeonggi Branch, which has undergone sequential renovations since last year, has newly opened a food hall full of customer-customized services this time," adding, "We will complete the new luxury brand hall in the second half of this year to solidify our status as a landmark department store in the southern metropolitan area."