To revive neighborhood commercial districts, "Good Soju" priced at 990 won will be sold in limited quantities at neighborhood supermarkets.
The Small Enterprise and Market Service (SEMAS) said on the 1st it will sign a "business agreement to supply limited Good Soju to neighborhood supermarkets to revitalize neighborhood commercial districts" with Seonyang Soju and the Korea Super Chain Distribution Business Cooperative (KVC) at the Sindokkomjirak Market in Daejeon.
The agreement was arranged to boost sales at neighborhood supermarkets that have fallen due to high inflation and weak consumption. Under the agreement, starting on the day, 9.9 million bottles of Good Soju will be supplied in limited quantities to about 10,000 neighborhood supermarkets nationwide. The consumer price is set at 990 won per bottle.
SEMAS will establish price-marking standards and operating guidelines, and support overall promotion and distribution management. Seonyang Soju will produce and supply products with minimized margins, and KVC will use its nationwide member supermarket network to handle rapid distribution.
Im Sang-hun, Head of Team of the distribution support team in charge of the project at SEMAS, said, "We planned this to address declining sales at neighborhood supermarkets amid high inflation and weak consumption," and added, "By leveraging the nature of a limited product sold only at neighborhood supermarkets, not big-box stores, we aim to steer spending toward neighborhood supermarkets and see it lead to repeat visits."
Attending the signing ceremony will be In Tae-yeon, SEMAS chair, Cho Woong-rae, Seonyang chair, and Kim Jae-myeon, KVC chair, who will sign the agreement and also check the distribution status. SEMAS plans to analyze future sales performance and consumer data to consider expanding similar win-win models.
SEMAS Chair In Tae-yeon said, "Neighborhood supermarkets are a living base that touches the daily lives of local residents and the core of neighborhood commercial districts, and only when small shops survive can the economy survive," adding, "With this agreement as a starting point, we will build a structure in which consumption flows to local areas to help stabilize small business management."