"A Convenience Store That Sells Clothes Too"... Lotte Distribution Group's Bold Experiment

7-Eleven Launches First Fashion and Beauty Specialty Store
Hi-Mart Introduces 'The Nano Square' Targeting Single-Person Households

Lotte Distribution Group affiliates have embarked on new initiatives at 'Dundun,' a complex cultural space in Dongdaemun, Seoul. Seven Eleven opened its first-ever beauty and fashion specialized store, while Lotte Hi-Mart is debuting an experiential store called 'The Nano Square,' tailored for single-person households.

Convenience Store Sells Hoodies and Cosmetics Too

Visited on the 27th, the 'Seven Eleven Dongdaemun Dundun Branch' is located right next to the escalator on basement level 1, which connects the store. The first space that caught the eye at the entrance was the fashion and beauty zone, where products not typically seen in regular Seven Eleven stores were displayed on the shelves.

Fashion beauty zone set up in the store window.
Photo by Minji Lee

In the fashion section, sweatshirts and hoodies collaborated with the streetwear brand 'Mung' and colorful socks from the specialized sock brand 'Sockstop' stood out first. Although the variety was not large, collaborative products featuring Seven Eleven's founding year and other details could be found. In the beauty section, four brands?'Manyo Factory,' 'Mediheal,' 'Cell Fusion C,' and 'Derma:B'?occupied the shelves. These are specialized basic skincare brands selling cleansing products, body care products, and skincare items. The store plans to periodically replace the stocked products.

This is the first time Seven Eleven has introduced a fashion and beauty specialized store. Until now, they focused on the food sector, which accounts for 80% of total sales, but as consumer demands are becoming more segmented by commercial district, they judged it necessary to diversify the products sold. Dongdaemun was chosen as the first location for the fashion and beauty specialized store because of its high proportion of foreign visitors and the large flow of MZ generation (Millennials + Gen Z) who are highly interested in fashion and beauty.

A foreign customer is holding a clothing product introduced by Seven Eleven and taking a photo.
[Photo by Seven Eleven]

A Seven Eleven representative said, "The main targets are domestic MZ generation and foreign tourists who have new desires for fashion and beauty experiences," adding, "Recently, convenience stores have been launching cosmetics one after another, and this is the first starting point to let people know that convenience stores are channels where you can purchase such items."

However, there were some drawbacks. In the fashion section, the limited range of purchasable items made it feel more like a 'goods (souvenirs)' shop rather than a fashion specialized store. In the beauty section, it was questionable whether foreign and young domestic consumers would carry large pump bottles of body wash or small containers of toner pads purchased at the convenience store all the way home or to their accommodations after going out to Dongdaemun.

Especially, products from brands popular among foreigners like Manyo Factory and Mediheal are easily available at H&B stores located in well-known tourist areas such as Myeongdong, Seongsu, and Hongdae. Furthermore, Olive Young is located on basement level 2 right below the Seven Eleven Dundun branch, indicating a need for differentiation in product types and sizes.

Seven Eleven's first-ever instant pizza convenience meal.
[Photo by Minji Lee]

Seven Eleven also introduced a 'K-Food Court' that leverages the strengths of convenience stores, a 'Seven Select Zone' displaying private brand products separately, a 'play facility' where customers can enjoy time with the character Bellygom, and a 'Liquor Museum' with a competitive selection of wine and beer. The food court is selling instant pizza products that can be enjoyed in just three minutes for the first time.

Through this Dundun branch, Seven Eleven plans to introduce customized specialized stores tailored to individual preferences and experiences by commercial district. The newly launched fashion and beauty specialized stores will expand operations by selecting locations with many MZ consumers and foreign tourists.

'The Nano Square' Without Hi-Mart... Showroom Targets MZ Consumers' Tastes

Lotte Hi-Mart unveiled a specialized store called 'The Nano Square' spanning two floors: basement level 1 and basement level 2. The name 'The Nano Square' reflects the characteristics of the Dongdaemun commercial district, which has a high proportion of single-person households, and embodies the ambition to showcase various home appliance lifestyles tailored to individual tastes.

The Nano Square beauty showroom. Beauty-related electronic devices are arranged.
[Photo by Minji Lee]

The newly introduced store completely abandoned the existing Hi-Mart concept. While traditional Hi-Mart stores are densely packed with appliances on both sides starting from the entrance, The Nano Square hides appliances behind partitioned shelves. The signature orange and red colors associated with Hi-Mart were also absent from the store.

The store, approximately 320 pyeong (1,057㎡) in size, similar to existing stores, is composed of a showroom, a library, and an Elec Society zone. The library is a space where customers can experience furniture and appliances, allowing them to interact with neatly organized silver shelves. The showroom naturally guides customers to understand how appliances can be integrated into interior design and which appliances can assist in daily life. Since the target customers are young single-person households, five showrooms tailored to MZ consumers' diverse lifestyles such as music, video, beauty, gaming, and home cooking are presented.

The showrooms were designed in collaboration with creators according to each theme. For example, the beauty-themed showroom on basement level 2 collaborated with popular beauty creator 'Sine' to present a beauty powder room. New devices not commonly found in offline appliance stores, such as lens sterilizers, heating eyelash curlers, and Shark dryers, were evenly arranged. Additionally, QR codes were provided to allow customers to check product prices and details for items of interest.

Entrance view of The Nano Square. On the right is the Library Zone where home appliances are displayed.
[Photo by Minji Lee]

A Lotte Hi-Mart representative explained, "There are many products in the store that were not previously available at Hi-Mart, tailored to the target customer base," adding, "More than 30% of the products introduced at The Nano Square are new, which positively contributes to expanding sales channels for small and medium-sized enterprises." The Elec Society zone plans to organize spaces as pop-up stores featuring electronic accessories and lifestyle edit shops. Currently, a vintage camera pop-up by 'OXO Camera,' a vintage digital camera edit shop, and a living goods pop-up by 'Comptoir de Mirabel,' a Seochon-based accessory edit shop, are ongoing.

Furthermore, Hi-Mart plans to continuously introduce specialized stores tailored to the characteristics of major commercial district customer bases. Kim Jong-sung, head of product strategy, who was met at the store, said, "While existing stores targeted all age groups from their 20s to 60s, we will now segment the customer base and approach them accordingly," adding, "We plan to gradually increase such stores considering the commercial districts of each region."