Large Mart, Price Stabilization Project... "Discounts at Lowest Price Levels"

Sale of Fresh, Processed, and Household Products

Customers are purchasing fruits at Lotte Mart Zetaflex Jamsil Branch.
[Photo by Lotte Mart]

Large supermarkets are launching a lowest-price project to stabilize grocery prices.

According to the industry on the 4th, Emart has started The Limited Project, which selects fresh, processed, and daily necessities quarterly and offers them at the lowest price level. In the first phase, 48 items including 15 fresh foods, 27 processed foods, and 6 daily necessities will be sold up to 50% cheaper than the regular price until the end of March.

Emart lowered prices by purchasing up to five times the usual quantity from its partners. For example, it contracted to buy 60% of the partner's production volume of white eggs per tray, reducing the average selling price by about 17%. CJ Hetbahn Asan Clear Rice was purchased about three times more, allowing it to be sold at about a 25% discount compared to the regular price.

Emart innovated its cost structure by subdividing the process from production to sales of existing products and applying various cost-saving methods at each stage. The Our Neighborhood Tteokbokki Original & Cheese 4-serving product reduced unnecessary packaging costs, and Ottogi Snack Noodles changed its packaging to a 10-pack product, lowering the price by 35 to 50%. Seaweed and wine quantities were secured in advance through pre-contracts, and when the price of Spanish thinly sliced pork belly rose, Dutch pork belly was newly sourced.

Lotte Mart is also offering lowest-price level discounts on essential daily items. Grade 1 Korean beef will be available at discounted prices for a month. Korean beef sirloin (100g) is sold at 7,900 won, and Korean beef soup cuts and bulgogi (100g) at 2,990 won. Prices were lowered by pre-contracting 20 tons of sirloin and 40 tons of soup cuts and bulgogi when Korean beef prices fell compared to the previous year.

Processed foods and non-food items will be offered at low prices until the 8th. Products with ample shelf life were purchased at about five times the usual volume, stored in the company’s large logistics center, and supplied sequentially to stores to secure cost competitiveness. Popular processed food items such as frozen foods, beverages, and cereals are also prepared with buy-one-get-one-free promotions.

A representative from a large supermarket said, “In this era of high inflation, we will continue to offer discounted products every quarter to contribute to stabilizing customers’ grocery prices.”