Kang Hee-seok, CEO of Emart, "Strengthening Profitability through Efficient Cost Management"

CEO Kang Hee-seok Reappointed at General Meeting
Pursuing Profit Growth Through Workforce Optimization and Increased Store Space Productivity
Strengthening Competitiveness

Emart CEO Kang Hee-seok expressed his intention to focus on strengthening profitability through efficient cost management on the occasion of the company's 30th anniversary.

At the regular shareholders' meeting held on the 29th at Emart headquarters in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, CEO Kang announced plans to improve workforce productivity through measures such as adjusting store operating hours, expanding unmanned and automated systems, and activating data-driven smart work by introducing next-generation systems.

CEO Kang stated, "Our principle is to invest in stores that can generate results, and we will carry out selective renewals tailored to the roles of each store." He promised, "For unprofitable stores, we will achieve workforce efficiency and increase store space productivity by compressing directly managed areas through structural improvements and expanding tenants." He added, "We will continue to improve the profitability of the online business by optimizing online PP (picking and packaging) operations and advancing the delivery network, and we will meticulously manage costs by streamlining traditionally executed promotion expenses through data-based performance analysis."

He also announced plans to pursue growth accompanied by profits by strengthening core competitiveness. CEO Kang explained, "To celebrate the 30th anniversary, we will conduct year-round customer appreciation marketing, operate a national price stabilization project based on bulk purchasing and pre-planning throughout the year to offer daily necessities at the lowest prices, and enhance product competitiveness by launching exclusive and limited-edition products."

Furthermore, he emphasized efforts to expand new revenue generation by actively promoting new growth engine businesses. CEO Kang said, "We will expand the introduction of digital advertising media in existing offline stores and strengthen utilization rates and sales capabilities." He added, "We will introduce new revenue businesses using data such as brand characteristics within product categories and customer shopping behaviors to expand the scale of the advertising business."

He also promised to improve the financial structure through debt reduction and efficient investment execution. CEO Kang stated, "We will significantly reduce borrowings and decrease financial cost burdens through the securitization of inefficient assets and adjustment of the investment portfolio." He added, "This year, we will reduce the scale of investments to less than half compared to the previous year and focus investments on core and profitable business areas to secure financial soundness."

CEO Kang was reappointed as an inside director at the shareholders' meeting that day. With the approval of this reappointment agenda, CEO Kang, who assumed the position in 2019, will have his term extended until March 2026.