[Report] 4 AM 'Open Run'... Gangseo's First Flagship Traders, 3.8 Times Nationwide Sales

Open Run for Limited Edition Whiskey... Checkout Waits Stretch to Tens of Minutes
Targeting Both Families and 1-2 Person Households... Areas for Improvement Identified

"It's really great to have a large supermarket within walking distance. The prices and quality of food are good, and there are many household items, so office workers living nearby will find it convenient to shop after work and then go home."

Traders Magok Branch, a warehouse-style discount store under E-Mart's Traders Whole Sale Club, opened at 'One Grove,' a large complex facility in Magok District, Gangseo-gu, Seoul. A female consumer in her 60s living nearby said, "I'm satisfied that Traders has opened close to my home." At the seafood corner, male customers who appeared to be in their 70s were browsing salmon fillets priced between 30,000 and 40,000 KRW, saying, "Even if you buy 50,000 KRW worth of sashimi at a sashimi restaurant, there isn't much to eat, but here you can buy well-prepared, generous, and fresh products in exact quantities, which is much better."

On the 14th, when Traders Magok branch opened, the store entrance was bustling with visitors. Photo by Emart

Open Run to Buy Limited Edition Whiskey... Checkout Takes Tens of Minutes

On the opening day, the 14th, before the store opened at 10 a.m., hundreds of customers formed a winding queue in an S-shape at the entrance on the basement level 2 of the building, creating a bustling scene. Visitors continued to flood in without pause until late afternoon. Some visitors lined up from 4 a.m. to purchase premium whiskeys prepared in limited quantities for the opening event, such as 'Kim Chang-su Whiskey Single Cask 51.8 (700ml)' exclusively produced for Traders by the 'Kim Chang-su Whiskey Distillery' and 'Hibiki' Macallan Sherry 12 Years. An employee wearing a small microphone at the entrance repeatedly urged, "This is a congestion zone, so please do not stop your carts and keep moving."

The checkout counters were equally crowded. Consumers piled various products such as strawberries, sushi, toilet paper rolls, meat, and instant coffee in their carts and lined up for payment, waiting nearly 20 minutes or more for their turn. Park Heung-gyu, the manager of Traders Magok Branch, said, "We have opened all 29 counters, including 15 checkout counters, 12 SCO (self-checkout) machines, and 2 temporary counters, and have assigned additional staff to assist cashiers, but it is still difficult to keep up with the demand."

On the 14th, when Traders Magok branch opened, a long line of customers waiting to pay stretched out. Photo by Kim Heung-soon

According to E-Mart, Traders Magok Branch recorded the highest sales ever during the first weekend from the 14th to the 16th. It was 1.4 times higher than the average daily sales during the first weekend of Traders Dongtan Branch, which opened from June 30 to July 2, 2022, and 3.8 times higher than the average weekend daily sales of 22 Traders stores nationwide last weekend.

In particular, it achieved sales of 2 billion KRW on the opening day alone, setting a new record for the highest daily sales among all Traders stores nationwide, and on the 15th, daily sales increased to 2.4 billion KRW, breaking the record within a day. The previous highest daily sales record was 1.87 billion KRW set by Traders Dongtan Branch on July 2, 2022. On the opening day alone, 4 tons of strawberries, 10 tons of imported meat such as Wagyu and lamb chops, 1,000 large sushi trays for 3-4 people, and over 500 kg of salmon sashimi were sold. The number of visitors recorded by the POS (point of sale) system on the 14th was 13,000, and considering that customers usually visit in groups of 2-3 family members, it is estimated that more than 25,000 people visited on the opening day.

Manager Park explained, "Since the E-Mart Gimpo Airport Branch closed a long time ago and there was no large supermarket near Magok, there was considerable customer demand that had been unmet." He added, "Within a 6 km radius of Traders Magok Branch, more than 1.2 million people reside, and the office district is well-developed with a large floating population. Expanding the range to 8 km, we expect to absorb customer demand not only from Gangseo-gu but also from Yangcheon-gu."

Targeting Both Families and 1-2 Person Households... Identifying Areas for Improvement

Traders Magok Branch is the store newly opened by E-Mart after 14 months since Suwon Hwaseo Branch (22nd store) opened in December 2023. It is the first warehouse-style discount store in the Gangseo area of Seoul and the first large supermarket in the Magok New Town, making it the second Traders store in Seoul after Wolgye Branch (16th store, opened in March 2019). This store was planned as the largest among current Traders stores, with a floor area of 11,636 cubic meters (approximately 3,520 pyeong). It is more than 10% larger than Hanam Branch, which ranks first in sales among all stores. Considering the characteristics of warehouse-style discount stores where customers purchase bulky and large-capacity products, the aisles and cart passageways were designed to be wider.

- On the 14th, when Traders Magok branch opened, the store interior was bustling with customers. Photo by Emart

This location plans to differentiate itself with exclusive products and specialized roadshows. It features a toy section reflecting the kidult (adults pursuing childlike sensibilities) trend and a DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera booth. In fact, the experiential space 'Gundam Roadshow,' which sold about 80 types of Bandai Namco products including Gundam for the opening event, saw an 'open run' phenomenon with customers lining up before the store opened, and more than 1,200 customers flocked to the 'Capsule Toy Machine Roadshow.'

The main target consumers of Traders Magok Branch are 40s and 50s with children, typically 3-4 person households. Additionally, considering 1-2 person households, a No Brand specialty shop was placed opposite the main store. The food court, T-Cafe, is the largest among Traders stores, with an area of 562 cubic meters (about 170 pyeong). It has over 100 seats, and including round tables, it can accommodate more than 120 customers.

Customers are purchasing Gundam models at the roadshow held at Traders Magok branch. Photo by E-Mart

However, some challenges to be resolved before the store stabilizes have been identified. One Grove, completed in September last year, has a high vacancy rate, and there are insufficient signboards guiding Traders both inside and outside the building, causing difficulties for visitors walking to find the underground store entrance. In the community of nearby Magok District apartment complexes, complaints have arisen such as "There are too many people and it is crowded inside, making checkout difficult," and "It takes a long time to park." Traders Magok Branch has a dedicated parking lot with a capacity of 1,500 vehicles, which is larger than the average of about 900 vehicles at other stores.

An E-Mart official said, "It seems that vehicle access was difficult due to the high floating population and the overlapping opening situation," and added, "We plan to reduce congestion by maximizing the use of shared parking spaces used with other tenants." They also said, "We are reviewing the pointed-out issues such as insufficient route guidance and looking for improvement measures to minimize visitor inconvenience."

Meanwhile, Traders plans to open an additional store in Guwol-dong, Namdong-gu, Incheon in the second half of this year. The goal is to drive overall growth of E-Mart through continuous store openings in the future. In fact, warehouse-style discount stores are gaining attention as a distribution channel for rational consumption in the era of high inflation, and their performance is rebounding. Traders' sales last year increased by 5.2% year-on-year to 3.5 trillion KRW, and operating profit rose 59% to 92.4 billion KRW.