Homeplus Opens 'Mega Food Market 17' Buk Suwon Branch After Renovation

Achieved 17 Renovation Targets in 1 Year by February
Average Sales Up 20% After Mega Food Market Renewal
Strengthened Food & Experience, Effective Flow Changes

Models are posing in front of Homeplus Mega Food Market Buk Suwon Branch in Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi, which has been newly renovated and reopened.
[Photo by Homeplus].

Homeplus announced on the 23rd that it has renewed and reopened the 17th Homeplus Mega Food Market, the Buk Suwon branch, located in Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi Province. Homeplus Mega Food Market is a project embodying the customer-centric management philosophy emphasized by CEO Lee Jae-hoon since his early days in office. With the opening of the Buk Suwon branch, the originally targeted renewal of 17 stores by February this year has been completed.

The Homeplus Mega Food Market Buk Suwon branch is the first renewed store introduced in the Suwon area. With a total floor area of 65,478㎡, it ranks among the top five largest Homeplus stores nationwide out of 133 locations. Through this renewal, it differentiated itself by creating a 'Global Zone,' which is hard to find in surrounding commercial areas. This includes the World Sauce section featuring over 700 popular sauces from more than 20 countries, World Snack, World Beverage, and World Noodle sections gathering products from around the globe. There is also a Wine & Whiskey corner and a Whiskey Library corner. To commemorate the opening on the 23rd, limited quantities of six bottles each of Yamazaki 12-year and Suntory Hibiki are being offered. Balvenie 14-year Caribbean Cask, Balvenie 12-year, and Macallan 18-year Double Cask are also prepared.

The non-food category was designed under the concept of a 'customer experience specialty zone that makes the whole family happy.' The toy corner, 'Toy Adventure Land,' was expanded to its largest scale ever. For the first time in the industry, a separate children's playground themed with popular characters was created, along with a photo zone. The toy assortment was also expanded from about 1,000 to 3,000 items. As an opening event, a 'Costume Parade' will be held from the 23rd to the 25th, and 'taking Polaroid photos with characters' will be available for the first 200 people each day on a first-come, first-served basis.

Models are experiencing toys at Homeplus Mega Food Market Buk Suwon Branch's 'Toy Adventure Land'
[Photo by Homeplus].

Homeplus stated that one year after the opening of the first Mega Food Market in Incheon Ganseok, the cumulative sales and customer numbers of all 16 stores have increased by more than 20% on average compared to their respective opening times. The flagship store in Gangseo, where the headquarters is located, and the most recently renewed Yatap branch have shown a 100% cumulative sales growth rate. Homeplus evaluated that the Mega Food Market, based on the management policy that 'food' and 'experience' must be strengthened to bring customers back to the stores, has presented a future-oriented large-scale mart model that meets rapidly changing consumer trends and customer demands.

It was explained that changes in space and flow, such as placing bakeries and delis that can be easily enjoyed at the front entrance, reflecting the trends of the times, have drawn positive customer responses. The average sales of bakery and deli corners in the 16 Mega Food Market stores increased by 70%, and the average number of customers rose by 43% and 66%, respectively. Boldly removing unnecessary displays to secure customer sightlines and make it easier to locate desired products was also evaluated as effective.

By maximizing the success cases of the opened Mega Food Markets and reflecting customer demands, it was explained that the average sales growth rate over six months for renewed stores in the second half of last year (32%) was higher than that of the first half (16%). The average customer number growth rate was also 31% for the second half stores, 17 percentage points higher than the first half stores.

Oh Yong-geun, head of the Homeplus Store Strategy Team, said, "The one-year renewal of Homeplus Mega Food Market proves the growth potential of the previously stagnant offline stores and shows that Homeplus can make a comeback," adding, "This year, we will continue to create Homeplus Mega Food Markets that prioritize customer convenience and demands."