[Report] Finally Landing in Seoul, 'Emart Food Market'... 'Open Run' for the Lowest Price Food Items

Opened Simultaneously with IKEA Gangdong on the 17th
Open-Run Crowds Before Business Hours
13,000 Grocery Products Only
Emart's Largest Grocery Store

On the morning of the 17th, at Godeok Biz Valley in Godeok-dong, Gangdong-gu, Seoul. Entering the basement level 1 of a building densely packed with high-rise buildings, the entrance of Emart Food Market Godeok Branch, a newly opened grocery specialty store by Emart, appeared. On this day, IKEA Gangdong Branch, located in the same building, also opened simultaneously, and even before the store started operating at 10 a.m., visitors crowded the entrance. The entrance was bustling with 'open-run consumers' pulling shopping carts into the food market, merchandise planners (MDs) for each corner, and company officials mixed together.

The Godeok Branch is Emart's second food market following the Daegu Suseong Branch, which opened last December. Located on the basement level 1 of Gangdong I'Park The River, it occupies an area of 4,925㎡ (approximately 1,490 pyeong), with 95% (3,471㎡, about 1,050 pyeong) of the directly managed space, excluding tenant stores, dedicated to groceries. It offers about 13,000 products including fresh foods and ready-to-eat foods (deli). This is the largest number among Emart stores. There are as many as 21 specialized zones that maximize the advantages of offline stores.

Competitors such as Lotte Mart and Homeplus, located 4 to 5 subway stops away, also operate specialty stores focused on groceries, signaling a competition among large marts to attract customers in this area.

Emart Food Market Godeok Branch. Provided by Emart

Emart differentiates itself by selling ten selected fresh domestic products?refrigerated pork belly and neck meat, marinated beef bulgogi, cleaned squid, abalone, zucchini, onions, green onions, bananas, and Bojogae apples?at industry-lowest prices. It also strengthens its offerings of healthy, unique, and premium ingredients. Reflecting the trend of interest in slow aging, it has newly developed and placed the 'Global Garden' featuring imported fruits and vegetables, and the 'Fresh Snack Zone' with well-being snack cup fruits and stick vegetables. It also features the 'K Black Pork Zone' selling all three types of domestic black pork and 'All About Salmon,' a collection of salmon products.

The store layout targeting young customers also caught attention. Pop-up stores operate throughout the store as event spaces, offering tastings and introducing new products such as 'Australian Clean Wagyu Darling Down' and 'Gourmet Sobaba Chicken.' The beverage corner has a separate 'Zero' section featuring zero-calorie cola and zero-calorie cider.

Emphasizing cost-effectiveness (performance relative to price), the deli section is strengthened to appeal to office workers, students, and families alike. Considering the commercial area dense with facilities like CGV and Daiso and office spaces, it operates 'Tasty Pick,' which proposes 'Today's Menu' for nearby office workers to enjoy a meal without burden, and 'Mill & Bakery,' a bakery specialty store that bakes bread fresh daily in-store. There is also 'Sweet Street,' a mini curated shop gathering various imported jellies and biscuits, and 'Cheeeese Please,' the largest cheese specialty corner in domestic discount stores.

Emart Food Market Godeok Branch is the second store Emart has opened in Seoul this year, following the 'Traders Wholesale Club Magok Branch,' a warehouse-type discount store newly established in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, in February. Emart opening two stores in Seoul in one year is the first time in 13 years since the opening of Mapo and Hawolgok branches in 2012. Narrowing down to discount stores, it is the first store to open in Seoul in five years since the Sinchon Branch in 2020. Including the previously opened Emart Food Market Suseong Branch, Emart has opened three stores in four months.

Emart plans to expand its store openings by opening a new Traders store in the Incheon area in the second half of this year. The number of stores, which was 154 at the end of last year, will increase to 157 by the end of this year, marking a growth trend for the first time in five years since 2020. This external growth will be fully leveraged to further strengthen the core competitiveness of offline distribution.

Han Chaeyang, CEO of Emart, said, "We will create a new standard for grocery shopping with innovative store operations of food markets and mall types and differentiated products."