The Ministry of SMEs and Startups said on the 31st that the 30-day "April Companion Festival," held from Apr. 11 to May 10, wrapped up successfully with total direct sales of 544.1 billion won.
A record 36,000 small and midsize enterprises and small merchants took part in this festival. Through 200 online and offline retail channels nationwide, various discount events and promotions ran, and sales totaled 526.3 billion won on average last year for the Companion Festival, up 17.8 billion won (3.4%).
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) assessed that the results were significant for maintaining steady consumer momentum despite challenges such as high oil prices and weakened consumer sentiment, and for helping expand sales channels for small and midsize enterprises and small merchants.
Boosted by the policy effect of temporarily expanding the discount rate for the digital Onnuri gift certificate during the festival period, sales of Onnuri gift certificates reached 511.8 billion won. This figure is up 48% from last year's average and is seen as having a positive impact on revitalizing consumption in traditional markets and neighborhood commercial districts.
The biggest feature of this Companion Festival was linking local festivals with Companion Festival programs in cooperation with local governments and expanding collaboration with large retail companies that have nationwide sales networks.
Thirteen local offices of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups operated 71 specialized programs that combined self-planned events reflecting regional characteristics with local festivals, helping to boost local economies.
A representative case was the "Daegu Handmade Burger Festival" planned by the Daegu-Gyeongbuk local office of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups. Ten youth dining start-ups from neighborhood commercial districts participated, and over two days, each recorded average sales of 10 million won. That is 3.3 times higher than the annual daily average sales of 1.5 million won. The event drew as many as 12,000 visitors during the period and was evaluated as having established itself as a leading local food festival.
The "Eom Heung-do city tour," specially scheduled on the back of the box office success of the film "The King's Warden," and a program linking it with Gunwi Traditional Market also helped spur tourist visits and spending in markets, contributing to the revitalization of neighborhood commercial districts.
In Incheon, by linking the "Bupyeong Black Day" event with tour programs for cruise tourists at Incheon Port, about 500 foreign tourists were guided to visit local commercial districts. Building on this, there are plans to further expand consumption-tourism programs for foreign tourists in the second half.
Expanded participation by retail channels also helped boost sales. Moving beyond a focus on TV home shopping and online special exhibitions, various offline retail channels such as hypermarkets, mixed-use shopping malls, convenience stores, and Hansalim consumer cooperatives joined the Companion Festival, leading to the largest-ever offline sales performance.
Products selected as the festival's signature "Companion 300" also achieved total sales of 1.8 billion won through various promotional activities such as support for direct online sales and discount coupons.
Starting this year, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) plans to regularly hold two consumer festivals annually, centered on the first-half "April Companion Festival" and the second-half pan-government integrated consumption-promotion event, the "Korea Grand Festival." Through this, the ministry will continue to support consumption revitalization and sales growth for small and midsize enterprises and small merchants.
Minister Han Seong-sook of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS) said, "We are deeply grateful to the public for taking part in the Companion Festival," and added, "In the second half of the year, we will further boost domestic demand through the 'Korea Grand Festival,' which will marshal pan-government consumption-promotion capabilities."