[Report] "Is this really Emart?" Exclamations Galore... Jukjeon Starfield Market

'Starfield Market' Collaborated with Shinsegae Property
Lease Stores Increased to 70% with Specialized Spaces for Residents
Specialized Spaces for Children and Parents Receive High Satisfaction from Residents

"Because of my child, I used to have to go to a shopping mall a bit far from home every weekend, but now I don't think I need to do that anymore."

On the morning of the 29th, Starfield Market Jukjeon in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do was bustling with crowds seeking refuge from the sweltering heat. After about five months of renovation, the Jukjeon branch, which opened that day, resembled a small-scale complex shopping facility rather than a large supermarket. Mr. Lee (40 years old), whom we met at the 2nd floor 'Kids Ground,' said, "The mart has really changed a lot," adding, "Seeing performances for children on the 1st floor and the creation of community spaces, I have high expectations for how things will proceed."

A view of Book Ground located on the first floor.

Starfield Market is a newly introduced store created by E-Mart with the ambition to establish itself as a social club for local residents. It breaks away from the traditional large supermarket format by combining leased stores (tenants) and specialized spaces all in one. To achieve this, E-Mart collaborated with Shinsegae Property, which operates the complex shopping mall 'Starfield,' on the spatial layout. While the previous E-Mart Jukjeon branch had a tenant-to-supermarket ratio of 3:7, the current store reversed this ratio to 7:3 in favor of tenants.

View of Kids Ground located on the 2nd floor of Starfield Market Jukjeon branch.

The first Starfield Market was selected from among 131 E-Mart stores nationwide, choosing the Jukjeon branch due to its relatively large sales and store size. Jukjeon-dong has a population of about 70,000, with teenagers making up more than 19% of the total population, indicating a high demand from family units, making it the optimal store to launch Starfield Market. Additionally, the Jukjeon branch was built during the Jukjeon station area development project in 2005 and was due for renewal, making the timing ideal.

The 1st and 2nd floors of Starfield Market Jukjeon best embody E-Mart's goal of becoming the center of the local community. Upon entering the 1st floor entrance, the first thing visible is the 150-pyeong (approximately 496 square meters) 'Book Ground,' reminiscent of Starfield's iconic 'Byeolmadang' (Star Yard). Book Ground is furnished with books, chairs, and sofas donated by E-Mart employees and residents, allowing customers to pick up books they want to read or watch performances.

Instead of the usual sales counters or popular tenant stores seen in traditional E-Mart stores, this space was created for customers. In fact, a customer visiting the store for the first time that day repeatedly expressed amazement while taking photos with their phone. The 2nd floor 'Kids Ground' is a specialized space for parents with children. Stores selling baby clothes, such as Agabang, surround the Kids Ground where children can play, enabling shopping and play to happen simultaneously. The total number of seats on the 1st and 2nd floors reaches 200.

The tenant stores also focus on customer preferences and relaxation. Major stores on the 1st floor include a flower shop (Susoo Flower), Youngpoong Bookstore, cafes (Knotted, Starbucks), Hanssem, and Olive Young. Lee Ji-eun, E-Mart's leasing manager, explained, "We unified the interior design of the entire 1st floor space to create a comfortable atmosphere," adding, "We placed the flower shop and fragrance store near the entrance to enhance customer satisfaction through scent."

Among the 1st floor stores that day, Olive Young attracted many people. Nearby residents who had felt inconvenienced by the absence of an Olive Young near Jukjeon Station visited the store casually to browse products. A pop-up store space for children was also set up on the 1st floor, currently hosting a popular pop-up for kids called 'Catch Tiny Ping.'

To cater to trend-sensitive young customers, the food and beverage sector was also emphasized. Starfield Market opened 10 food and beverage outlets, five of which are debuting at E-Mart. Major outlets include the casual Chinese restaurant 'Star Cheongdam,' Seongsu-dong specialty restaurant 'Yosoku,' Dogok-dong shabu-shabu restaurant 'Seonjae,' conveyor belt sushi 'Gottensushi,' and buffet 'Ashley Queens.' Most of these stores were fully occupied that day, with Ashley Queens having a waiting list of 84 groups even before 11 a.m., the lunch hour.

An E-Mart official explained, "The food and beverage outlets are also designed with private group seating to accommodate small gatherings," adding, "This is a strategy to attract trend-sensitive customers around Bundang and Pangyo." The food and beverage outlets were moved from the basement level 1 to the 2nd floor to prevent customers dining and those shopping from crowding the same area.

Despite the early morning hour, the basement level 1 large supermarket was crowded with people trying to check out.

An official from Emart explained that they prominently displayed product prices to enhance shopping convenience for consumers.

Meanwhile, the basement level 1 E-Mart store, which completed its renovation early and opened in May, was packed with people shopping from early morning. It was transformed into a grocery-focused store emphasizing fresh products rather than miscellaneous goods, effectively leveraging the strengths of offline stores. An E-Mart official said, "We confirmed that young customers have high demand for hearty one-meal salads and premium desserts, so we also focused on the 'Grab and Go' section," adding, "For fresh foods, we made price tags larger to improve shopping convenience."