Shinsegae Centum City, MZ Playground... Two-Month Sales Up 100%

'Hyper Ground' Sales Up 101.3%
MZ Enthusiast Brand & Art-Integrated Interior
Top 4 Department Store Sales... "Securing Future Customers"

Shinsegae Department Store Centum City Branch is emerging as the representative playground for the MZ generation (Millennials + Generation Z) in the Busan and Gyeongnam regions by showcasing the country’s largest young fashion specialty hall, ‘Hyper Ground.’ The strategy is to secure future VIP customers through interiors that combine brands popular among people in their 20s and 30s with art, as well as pop-up stores that lead trends.

According to the distribution industry on the 21st, sales at Shinsegae Department Store Centum’s Hyper Ground have increased by 101.3% compared to the same period last year in just over two months since its opening on February 23 until the 18th. Sales among customers in their 20s rose by 155.6%, recording the highest growth rate, while sales among those in their 30s also increased by 138.9%. Since the establishment of Hyper Ground, sales from the 20s and 30s age groups have jumped by 143.4%. There is also a significant synergy effect with the sports and outdoor specialty hall, which opened last October including the top-tier stores of Nike and Adidas. These customers also visit restaurants and cafes within the department store, boosting food and beverage (F&B) sales as well.

Visitors are viewing sculptures and other exhibits at the Hyper Ground Iconic Hall in Shinsegae Department Store Centum City branch.
[Photo by Shinsegae Department Store].

One of the key reasons for Hyper Ground’s popularity is the presence of numerous designer brands that the MZ generation is enthusiastic about. The approximately 8,879㎡ (about 2,700 pyeong) single-area largest young fashion specialty hall in Korea has attracted many ‘rising brands’ that were previously hard to find in the region, drawing attention not only from Busan but also from the MZ generation in the Gyeongnam area. Among the 47 brands in Hyper Ground, 20 are new brands exclusive to the region. The women’s lifestyle brand ‘IMIS’ has been heating up online with items like ball caps and eco bags and continues to hold the top sales position in Hyper Ground since opening in Centum City. The entry of Pottery, popular among men aged 25 to 35, has also increased male customer inflow. Brands such as InstantFunk and MISCHIEF are exclusive to Shinsegae Centum as official stores and rank among the top sellers in Hyper Ground.

The incorporation of art into the interior design, which pleases the eyes and increases visit frequency, is also considered a contributing factor. The main entrance, ‘Iconic Hall,’ where 70% of visitors enter, was filled with street sensibility through collaboration with artist Kim Se-dong (SAMBYPEN), and a ‘Graffiti Wall’ was installed to convey trendy vibes. This was also applied to indoor displays, giving visitors a gallery-like experience. The placement of a popup square in the area with the highest customer traffic, regularly changing the lineup to stay ahead of trends, has continuously attracted MZ generation visitors.

Visitors are passing through the graffiti wall inside the Hyper Ground Iconic Hall at Shinsegae Department Store Centum City Branch.
[Photo by Shinsegae Department Store].

Shinsegae Centum is an indispensable store in Shinsegae Department Store’s ‘Metropolitan No.1’ strategy, which emphasizes large department stores covering wide areas. Recognized by the Guinness World Records as the world’s largest department store, it attracts not only residents of Busan and Gyeongnam but also domestic and international tourists, recording the second-highest sales in Shinsegae after the Gangnam branch. Last year’s sales reached 1.8449 trillion KRW, a 17.8% increase compared to the previous year, ranking 4th among all domestic department store branches.

In large-scale department stores where VVIP sales centered on luxury consumption are important, focusing on MZ generation customers who come to buy hats and eco bags is aimed at securing loyal customers for the future generation. The idea is that customers who habitually visited department stores in their 20s will continue to visit as loyal customers after their purchasing power increases. Shinsegae Centum plans to complete the renewal of its overseas fashion hall in the first half of this year, aiming to become a ‘future-oriented department store’ that embraces VIPs, the MZ generation, and domestic and international customers. Park Soon-min, the general manager of Centum, previously served as the branch manager of Times Square and Gyeonggi branches, which were representative department stores that attracted MZ generation customers through store renewals, raising expectations for future changes at Centum.

A distribution industry official said, “Recently, places that claim to be ‘future-oriented department stores’ are focusing on assembling assortments that excite people in their 20s and 30s. The goal is not simply the sales effect brought by these items but to attract young generations to visit department stores and ensure they become loyal customers even after they become the older generation. These changes by department stores also play a role in inducing offline visits in the online era, and such transformations will continue in the future.”