[Report] "Is There No Emart in Emart?" The Bold Transformation Targeted by 'The Town Mall'

The Town Mall 3rd Branch and Kintex Branch Lose E-Mart
Filled with Restaurants, Fashion, and Leisure... Come to Eat, Play, and Relax
Traders and No Brand Used as Alternatives for Grocery Shopping
Plan to Expand 'Future-Oriented Stores' Amid Discount Store Sales Decline

"Is there no longer an Emart here?"

Last weekend at The Town Mall Kintex branch in Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province. Although dinner time had long passed, the parking lot was still full, and as soon as I entered the building, the first thing I noticed was that it was an 'Emart that erased the traces of Emart.' Emart made a bold decision to remove Emart (discount store) while renovating the Kintex branch. While both The Town Mall branches 1 and 2, Wolgye and Yeonsu, had Emart stores, the Kintex branch, the 3rd branch, was the first to exclude Emart, making it the first 'Emart Town without Emart.'

Visitors are shopping at No Brand inside 'The Town Mall Kintex Branch' in Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province.
[Photo by Kim Yuri].

The renovated Kintex branch was built faithfully following the direction The Town Mall pursues, as a 'local landmark shopping mall.' With a store area of 26,446㎡ (about 8,000 pyeong), it is the largest Emart, but instead of dedicating most of the space to grocery shopping as before, it was filled with large-scale experiential tenants (rental stores) and cultural and resting spaces.

In place of Emart, both the 1st and 2nd floors were occupied by food courts (1st floor food court, 2nd floor specialty restaurants), and various tenants such as brunch cafes and book cafes, fashion and lifestyle brands, leisure and sports like golf and Pilates for adults, and kids cafes for children were introduced, giving a 'small Starfield in our neighborhood' vibe.

On the 2nd floor, there were beauty and fashion tenants such as Olive Young, Timberland, Jeximix, Crocs, and ABC Mart. It also had sports and leisure facilities for locals like GDR Mega Golf and Modern Pilates. Reflecting the camping trend, a camping supplies specialty store, Camping Gorae, was also introduced. On one side of the 2nd floor, the specialty restaurant area 'Gomeli,' which gathers popular restaurants serving Korean, Japanese, and Southeast Asian cuisine, was bustling with people. Opposite it, the brunch cafe Cocos, known for its photo-worthy spots, was also located.

Visitors are bustling at Gomelier, a specialty restaurant area inside The Town Mall Kintex branch in Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province.
[Photo by Yuri Kim].

Going down one floor, the newly opened No Brand store caught the eye after the transformation into The Town Mall. People who wanted to quickly buy food for the next day were lined up in front of the checkout counters. By removing Emart, the intention was that 'serious grocery shopping' would be done at Traders, located in the basement 1st floor as before, and 'simple grocery shopping' would be done at No Brand on the 1st floor. In addition, lifestyle brands such as Casamia, Nuhas Home, Slow Bed, and Living Creator, a small goods shop called Mom’s General Store, a comic cafe Door to Books, a culture center Culture Club with a cooking studio, children’s stores like ABC Kids Mart and Top Ten Kids, as well as gourmet food courts, Starbucks, and Uncle Peter’s cafes were located.

Emart’s vision of a 'future-type Emart' is not a place visited solely for grocery shopping, but a place to eat, enjoy, and rest, and then shop while there. This makes sense as Emart (discount stores) have recently seen stagnant sales growth and expanding operating losses, creating a gloomy atmosphere. Although there are temporary effects such as major store renovations, fundamentally, the problem starts from the fact that customer visits to large marts are not as frequent as before. The alternative to the convenience of mobile shopping is the fun of visiting in person. By incorporating the joy of eating and enjoying into Emart, they chose the method of The Town Mall to first attract foot traffic and then open wallets.

Initial customer responses to the Kintex branch after its renewal as The Town Mall have been positive. Not only on weekends but also on weekdays, there were many visitors due to the opening effect and the heatwave. According to Emart, from the renewal opening on the 21st to the 31st of last month, there were 150,000 visitors over 11 days. The appearance of 'hip restaurants and cafes' that were hard to find in the area led to a noticeable increase in visits from the 10-20 age group, and many 30-40-year-olds with young children also visited. Emart expects that the lowered average visitor age after The Town Mall transformation will have a long-term effect on securing loyal customers.

However, there were also many voices expressing regret over the disappearance of 'Emart grocery shopping,' which was suitable when it was burdensome to buy in bulk at Traders but the needed quantity was too large to buy at No Brand in small amounts. Since it is a mall anyway, there were other alternatives with more tenants like Starfield, so some pointed out the limitation that it has not become a 'must-visit place.'

Nevertheless, Emart sees The Town Mall as the direction for future Emart stores and is reviewing renovations for major stores. Lee Doo-seop, Executive Director in charge of Emart development, said, "The Town Mall Kintex branch put great effort into tenant attraction, with as many as 34 stores opening for the first time in the Ilsan area," adding, "We will strengthen various contents enjoyed by the whole family to make it the 'favorite place' in the Ilsan area."

Visitors are shopping at Traders inside 'The Town Mall Kintex Branch' in Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province.
Photo by Yuri Kim.