Emart24 Becomes First Korean Convenience Store to Enter India, Opens First Branch in Pune

Over 50 Types of K-Street Food on the First Floor
Photo Booths and K-Beauty Products on the Second Floor
Second Store to Open This Year with Local Partner
Master Franchise Transition and Expansion to Other Regions Planned

Emart24 has become the first Korean convenience store chain to enter the Indian market.

Kang Inseok, COO of Emart24 (center), Yoodong Wan, Consul General of India Mumbai (second from left), Peter Jung, CEO of Jung Brothers (first from left), Vinayak Sanil, Vice Chairman of Solitaire (second from right), and Siriram Mane, Pune regional politician (first from right) are posing for a commemorative photo at the opening ceremony of Emart24's first store in India, BHS branch, on the 21st. Provided by Emart24

According to Emart24 on August 24, the company opened its first store in India, the BHS branch, in Pune, Maharashtra, on August 21 in partnership with the local corporation "Jung Brothers Hospitality."

Pune is one of India's major economic centers, hosting industrial complexes of IT, automotive, and numerous Korean companies. It is also known for ranking first among 111 cities in the Indian government's "Ease of Living Index."

Emart24 expects that Pune's status as an economic hub, combined with the operational expertise of Jung Brothers-who are considered first-generation pioneers in the Indian market and already operate 28 franchise stores including "Cafe Peter"-will not only ensure a stable entry into India but also serve as a strategic base for further expansion.

The Emart24 BHS branch occupies the first and second floors of the 12-story Solitaire Business Hub in a duplex layout. The convenience store area spans a total of 264 square meters (approximately 80 pyeong), with 182 square meters (about 55 pyeong) on the first floor and 82 square meters (about 25 pyeong) on the second floor.

The first floor features a dining area with 24 indoor seats and 32 outdoor seats, as well as a space selling Korean convenience store products such as snacks and processed foods. The counter offers K-street food items like tteokbokki, hot dogs, gimbap, and bibimbap, along with a variety of coffee beverages and bakery products. Unlike the self-service K-ramen popular overseas, this store provides ramen cooked and served directly by staff.

The second floor was created in collaboration with "ARGO," a Korean self-photo booth company, to allow young Indian customers to experience K-photo booths firsthand. Various props for photo shoots, such as character headbands and glasses-previously only seen on social networking services (SNS)-are available, enabling locals to enjoy the photo booth experience just as in Korea. Customers can download their photos and videos to their phones and share them with family and friends.

The cosmetics section on the second floor was designed in partnership with "Limese," an India-based K-beauty platform, so that Indian customers interested in Korean culture can experience K-beauty products directly.

Emart24 sees strong potential for the convenience store business in India, given that the main customer base for convenience stores is people in their teens to thirties, and interest in Korean culture and K-food is steadily increasing. India, with the world's largest population and an average age of 28, is seen as a highly promising market.

Jung Brothers, which signed a brand license agreement with Emart24, plans to open a second store within this year. Including two more stores planned for next year, they aim to transition to a master franchise agreement-granting full brand rights to a local operator to run the franchise business-and then consider expanding to other regions in India.

Choi Jinil, CEO of Emart24, said, "India has a younger and larger population than any other country, so we expect great synergy with Emart24, which offers a variety of K-content. We plan to leverage India's high potential and growth prospects to establish a strong local presence with Emart24's unique brand and products, and to support the successful establishment of K-convenience stores in the market."