'Distribution Big 4', which had 5,000 people during the cold wind period, to hire 2,000+ with With Corona

Lotte, Hyundai, Shinsegae, GS Retail, and Others Significantly Expand Year-End New Hiring
Organizations Hindered by Employee Voluntary Retirement Anticipate Revitalization Through Young Talent Injection

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One year after store closures due to the spread of COVID-19 and the resulting restructuring that led to the dismissal of about 5,000 employees, the Big 4 in the distribution industry have begun hiring more than 2,000 new employees in preparation for the "gradual return to daily life (With COVID-19)."

Distribution Big 4 Simultaneously Expand Year-End Hiring

On the 19th, the Big 4 in the distribution industry?Lotte Shopping, Shinsegae, Hyundai Department Store, and GS Retail?announced plans to significantly increase the scale of new hires in the second half of the year compared to last year, ahead of the transition to With COVID-19.

Lotte Department Store plans to hire more than 400 new college graduate employees. They will be selected through a recruitment-linked internship, undergo a 4-week training course, and then be converted to full-time positions. Special recruitment for regional areas will begin interviews this week, with a double-digit number of hires deployed on-site next month. Additionally, service specialists will be hired in the triple digits within this month and deployed sequentially.

Shinsegae Group will also conduct an open recruitment for about 300 new employees in the second half of the year. Some affiliates, including Emart, gave up on new graduate recruitment last year, but the atmosphere is different this year. Shinsegae Group hired about 300 employees annually before COVID-19 in 2018 and 2019, and this year’s hiring scale is expected to return to the normal level. Emart has resumed new hires for seven job categories including Merchandiser (MD), overseas sourcing, finance, and store development. Shinsegae DF, which was hit hard by the duty-free business downturn, has also resumed new graduate recruitment after one year in preparation for the recovery of travel demand.

Hyundai Department Store Group will hire about 140 new college graduates across four affiliates: department stores, duty-free shops, home shopping, and Green Food (meal service and food material distribution). In preparation for the post-COVID-19 era, they are recruiting global division personnel and hiring experienced data analysts for department stores, planning to hire a total of about 1,100 employees across affiliates, similar to last year. GS Retail is also currently recruiting about 140 new employees in convenience stores, supermarkets, and digital commerce sectors.

Clear Recovery Trend in Distribution Industry Employment Freeze

The Big 4 in the distribution industry dismissed a total of about 5,000 employees last year. Lotte carried out personnel restructuring at the group level, reducing more than 100 executives along with offline store restructuring. About 200 long-term employees from distribution affiliates such as Lotte Mart, Lotte Super, and Lotte Hi-Mart chose voluntary retirement by early this year, resulting in the total number of Lotte Shopping employees dropping from over 24,200 in the first half of last year to about 21,700 in the first half of this year. This year, Lotte Department Store also reduced about 500 employees through a voluntary retirement program.

Emart did not hire new college graduate employees for the first time in its history in the second half of last year. Shinsegae Duty-Free, Emart24, and Shinsegae TV Shopping also did not conduct open recruitment. The number of employees at Shinsegae and Emart decreased by more than 650 within a year.

GS Retail’s workforce decreased by 21%, from 8,849 employees in 2019 to 6,961 last year. This was due to restructuring, including closing 20 supermarket stores and shutting down 16 H&B store 'Lalavla' locations. Hyundai Department Store did not conduct restructuring due to new store openings but saw only about an 88-person increase in new hires due to reduced recruitment scale.

An industry insider said, "Although the impact of COVID-19 continues, the distribution industry’s move to new hiring is increasing expectations for With COVID-19. If the current situation continues, the employment market in the distribution industry is expected to fully recover next year."