[Report] Trendy Beats Fill the Space... Forget Everything You Knew About SSG Food Halls

Shinsegae Department Store Launches Premium Food Hall in Cheongdam
"House of Shinsegae Cheongdam": New Premium Strategy Targeting Customers in Their 30s and 40s
From "Wellness" Food Hall to Fashion Brands: A Hub for Taste-Driven Consumption

On December 10, at House of Shinsegae Cheongdam, located on Dosan-daero in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, instead of the classical music often heard in luxury department stores, energetic, catchy beats filled the air. Instead of chandeliers and wood-toned moldings, which are symbols of premium food halls, gray metallic shelves caught the eye. It felt more like stepping into an "open party" space for a fashion brand than a food hall.

Entrance view of the Food Hall Twelve. With wellness as the trend, healthy foods beneficial to the body are displayed on the shelves. On the left, the pantry introduces customized products that meet the "12 Criteria" proposed by Twelve. Provided by Shinsegae Department Store.

Shinsegae Department Store is transforming the SSG Food Market Cheongdam branch into House of Shinsegae Cheongdam, with a grand reopening set for December 13. The total floor area is 4,960 square meters (approximately 1,500 pyeong). The basement level features the premium food section "Twelve," the relaxation area "Agora," and the smoothie specialty shop "Twelve Wonder Bar." The first floor is designed as a complex space where visitors can experience fashion, alcoholic beverages, and dining. This is the first time that the stay-type retail platform House of Shinsegae, previously available at the Shinsegae Gangnam branch, is being realized as an independent store outside a department store. The renewal process alone took about two years.

Previously, in August 2023, Shinsegae Department Store purchased the land and buildings of SSG Food Market Cheongdam and Dogok branches from Emart for 129.825 billion won. By reclaiming the premium supermarket business that was transferred to Emart in 2016, Shinsegae is resuming operations at the same location after about nine years.

The core area on the basement level, Twelve, appears to break away from the conventional formula of department store food halls. While the Shinsegae Gangnam food hall features Baroque-style structures and ceiling paintings for a warm and solid feel, Twelve unifies its shelves with gray metallic materials, emphasizing a young and trendy sensibility. The strategy, targeting residents in their 30s and 40s living in Cheongdam and Apgujeong, is evident throughout the space.

Inside the fresh food section of Twelve. Employees also wear more comfortable and active style clothing instead of formal uniforms, emphasizing a different atmosphere from traditional department store food halls. Photo by Minji Lee.

Park Hyunbeom, head of Shinsegae's food division, said, "The premium aspect comes from the curated selection by our merchandisers, not just from gathering expensive products in one place," adding, "The number of products has been drastically reduced from around 20,000 to about 6,000."

The core selection criterion is "wellness." The shelves are filled with foods that are good for the body and products that promote healing, allowing customers to make "premium purchases for their own well-being." In fact, the first thing visible when coming down the escalator is not colorful, fresh premium fruits, vegetables, or side dishes, but the "pantry" zone, which contains about 6,000 types of processed foods and wellness groceries such as olive oil and cereal. Wellness chips containing protein, dietary fiber, and probiotics also stood out.

The display method is also different. Moving beyond simply arranging quality fruits and vegetables neatly, a showcase method was introduced to allow customers to intuitively check the appearance and texture of the products. For example, in the case of "Pohangcho" (Pohang spinach), an actual bunch is displayed in the showcase so that customers can directly assess its marketability.

A showcase method was introduced to display a single representative product of fruit and vegetable items such as lemon and carrot, allowing customers to intuitively check the texture and quality of the product. Photo by Minji Lee.

Introducing specialized dry-aging equipment, aging experts directly provide the finest seafood and Korean beef. Photo by Minji Lee.

In the seafood section, the fresh fish dry-aging process is visualized. This is the application of beef dry-aging technology to fresh fish. Shinsegae Department Store first encountered this technology at "EuroShop," a retail store exhibition held every three years in D?sseldorf, Germany, and has implemented it domestically for the first time.

Another key area of House of Shinsegae is Agora. Agora features communal tables and about 100 seats, providing a space where customers can take a brief rest. Shinsegae Department Store envisions this as a stay-type space that embraces the local community, where employees from nearby fashion, advertising, and design companies can naturally mingle or hold meetings.

Agora view. The flow naturally connects to the adjacent deli and smoothie bar, creating a seamless experience of eating, relaxing, and shopping all in one continuous flow. Provided by Shinsegae Department Store.

Interior view of Clear, a specialty store deeply curated with white liquors such as sake, champagne, and white wine. Photo by Minji Lee.

The alcoholic beverage section on the first floor introduces "Clear," a specialty store focused on white liquors for the first time. The proportion of white liquors has been expanded to 70-80% of the total selection. Reflecting the recent trend of more consumers enjoying white liquors such as sake and Japanese-style soju, the lineup has been strengthened. In a hidden area inside Clear, there is an eight-seat exclusive hidden dining restaurant called "Monologue." Currently, it operates only during dinner hours, accepting only one reservation per day. This space is modeled after the Michelin-starred restaurant "Gion Sasaki" in Kyoto, Japan, and is characterized by its private dining experience that minimizes the number of guests to focus on a single group.

Additionally, the Twelve lifestyle section has welcomed a large number of beauty and lifestyle brands such as Chicor, Jaju, and Casamia. In the fashion category, the men's specialty store "Man on the Boon" and the women's brand "JAA," which emphasizes a comfortable silhouette, have opened as tenants on the first floor.