Gwangju Shinsegae Leads 'Co-Growth' with Partners through Win-Win Activities

Recognized for Support and Development Achievements
Received 'A' Rating in ESG Evaluation

Gwangju Shinsegae Co., Ltd. (CEO Lee Donghoon) is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year and is leading mutual growth with local companies through win-win activities.

Gwangju Shinsegae announced on the 26th that it is not only discovering outstanding local brands and bringing them into its stores, but also helping them take a leap forward by supporting their expansion nationwide.

As a result, Gwangju Shinsegae was recognized for its achievements, such as expanding the distribution network of local companies, and received an A rating for two consecutive years in 2023 and 2024 in the ESG evaluation organized by the Korea ESG Standards Institute.

Exterior view of Gwangju Shinsegae Department Store. Provided by Gwangju Shinsegae

In this way, Gwangju Shinsegae has been strengthening its position as a local company by coexisting with the region for over 30 years.

Gwangju Shinsegae introduced the local bedding brand "Unhyeongung" to customers for the first time when it opened its department store in 1995. Even after 30 years, Unhyeongung continues to write a history of mutual growth together with Gwangju Shinsegae in the same place.

Gwangju Shinsegae has spared no effort in nurturing local SMEs, and Unhyeongung, which used to be a small bedding manufacturer, has now expanded to 25 stores nationwide. In addition, through joint marketing, Unhyeongung's sales have increased by more than 50% over the past 10 years since 2014, achieving mutual growth with Gwangju Shinsegae.

In this way, Gwangju Shinsegae expanded Unhyeongung's distribution network to stores nationwide, helping it grow into a truly national brand. Another brand that realized mutual growth with local brands as part of ESG management is "Spol."

The golf equipment brand "Spol" is the result of Gwangju Shinsegae's efforts to foster mutual growth with local brands as part of ESG management.

Gwangju Shinsegae saw the potential of Spol in 2017 and brought it into its stores, forming a partnership through the SME mutual growth program and providing full support through marketing collaboration. With the department store's sophisticated design know-how, Spol strengthened its online design planning capabilities. As its product curation power increased on online shopping malls, Spol saw a rise in online sales and a growing customer base nationwide.

After entering Gwangju Shinsegae, Spol grew into a department store brand and, through word of mouth, successfully expanded to Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam Branch and Daegu Shinsegae.

Additionally, since April 2023, Gwangju Shinsegae has supported Spol by opening a pop-up store for the brand in a dedicated space for local SMEs on the first floor of the main building, allowing it to sell golf equipment and apparel. During the pop-up store period, Spol's sales increased by up to 75%, showing continuous performance.

The achievements of mutual growth in the F&B sector are even more remarkable. "Kitchen205," which causes an open-run craze every strawberry season with its fresh strawberry cakes, is one of the desserts that sells out daily at Sweet Park in the Gangnam branch. Sweet Park at Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam Branch is called a dessert mecca, with over 12 million annual visitors. Kitchen205 started as a small cake shop in Hampyeong, Jeollanam-do.

Gwangju Shinsegae first brought in Kitchen205 in April 2021 and supported its expansion to Shinsegae Department Store Daejeon Branch and Gangnam Branch. In its first year at Gwangju Shinsegae in 2021, Kitchen205 achieved 123% of its target sales, growing into a leading brand in Gwangju Shinsegae's food hall.

Recently, Kitchen205 collaborated with Starbucks to launch a strawberry cheesecake, receiving an even hotter response nationwide and continuing its upward trend.

Other brands that have grown from local favorites to national brands include "Gungjeon Bakery" and "Somaek Bakery." Along with Kitchen205, Gungjeon Bakery and Somaek Bakery, which are among the most popular stores, have also transformed from local representative brands to national brands. Gungjeon Bakery, famous for its "Dinosaur Eggs" and "Butterfly Pie," local specialties, has been loved continuously since entering Gwangju Shinsegae in 2019.

Somaek Bakery, which started in Dongmyeong-dong, Gwangju and gained fame as a local hotspot after being featured on "Master of Living," has also seen steady annual sales growth since joining in 2019. It has since expanded its sales network to Shinsegae Department Store Times Square Branch and Centum City Branch, growing into a national brand alongside Kitchen205.

In addition, Gwangju Shinsegae's food hall features a total of eight local brands, including "Yukgak Coffee" and "Barie," allowing customers to experience various local hotspots in one place.

Among the local brands, Barie, the most recently opened dining brand, achieved 130% of its target sales in its first year after joining last year.

Yukgak Coffee, which started in Yangnim-dong, Gwangju and joined in 2021, also saw a 41.8% year-on-year growth, achieving both increased department store sales and fostering local brands.

True to its name as a local corporation, Gwangju Shinsegae is discovering promising local brands and providing opportunities by operating pop-up stores. Previously, in the basement level 1 pop-up space of the main building, Gwangju Shinchang-dong's "Cafe Nunchi" crepe cake, Suwan-dong's "Aneukhan" towel cake, and Damyang, Jeollanam-do's "Cotton de Souffle" souffle pancakes were introduced to local residents through various dessert pop-ups.

The recently opened dessert brand "Sly Fox," which also started in Chippyeong-dong, Gwangju, is currently operating as a pop-up store. Sly Fox, which is popular at Sweet Park in the Gangnam branch along with Kitchen205, has gained even more popularity after entering Gwangju Shinsegae and continues to grow.

In this way, Gwangju Shinsegae plans to continue discovering and nurturing local brands, focusing on supporting the expansion of their sales channels.

Lee Donghoon, CEO of Gwangju Shinsegae, said, "Nurturing local brands into national brands by bringing them into the department store is a representative example of the win-win activities pursued by Gwangju Shinsegae as a local corporation," and added, "We will continue to spare no effort in supporting local brands such as Unhyeongung, Spol Golf, Kitchen205, Gungjeon Bakery, and Yukgak Coffee so that they can grow nationwide."