Emart Everyday Announces First Voluntary Retirement Ahead of Merger with Emart

For Employees with Over 15 Years of Service

Emart is conducting voluntary retirement for its corporate supermarket (SSM) subsidiary, Emart Everyday. Emart is scheduled to merge with Emart Everyday next month.

According to the distribution industry on the 14th, Emart Everyday announced the day before that it will conduct voluntary retirement for employees with more than 15 years of service.

Employees wishing to take voluntary retirement can apply by the 24th, and those selected will retire as of the 30th. The conditions for this voluntary retirement are a special retirement payment equivalent to 44 months of base salary for those with more than 25 years of service, and 33 months for those with 15 to 24 years of service. Additionally, a job transition support fund of 28 million KRW and a 5-7% shopping discount benefit at Everyday for 10 years after retirement (up to 7 million KRW) will be provided.

An Emart Everyday official explained, "Ahead of the merger on the 1st of next month, we are giving managers and above with more than 15 years of service the opportunity to choose." This is the first time Emart Everyday has implemented voluntary retirement since Emart’s acquisition in 2011. Emart also accepted voluntary retirement applications from employees with more than 15 years of service in March to April this year. That was the first case of voluntary retirement since Emart’s founding.

Since the appointment of CEO Han Chaeyang in September last year, Emart has been working on integrating three companies: the large supermarket Emart, the SSM Emart Everyday, and the convenience store Emart24. Accordingly, in April, it absorbed its unlisted subsidiary Emart Everyday. The aim is to enhance integrated operational capabilities to increase competitiveness and improve both sales and profitability. Emart plans to launch the merged corporation of Emart and Emart Everyday in July and later combine sourcing with Emart24, aiming to create full-scale integrated synergy by 2025.

Emart Everyday started as Cosco in 1974 and changed its name to Haitai Distribution in 1994 and then to Kim’s Club Mart in 2006. It was incorporated into Emart’s affiliates in 2011. At that time, Emart acquired 98.69% of Kim’s Club Mart shares from E-Land Retail for 224.6 billion KRW. As of the end of last year, Emart Everyday operates 253 stores (230 directly managed, 23 franchises) and recorded annual sales of 1.4074 trillion KRW and an operating profit of 18.8 billion KRW.