Emart confirmed on the 10th that it plans to renew its Dongtan and Gyeongsan stores in the same manner after converting its Jukjeon store into the first 'Starfield Market' last year. This marks the full-scale expansion of the Starfield Market strategy, which combines shopping malls and supermarkets. The industry is paying attention to whether Emart can create a foothold for recovering its core competitiveness through Starfield Market.
The Starfield Market that Emart is pursuing is a 'future store' with differentiated elements from existing large supermarkets. It has incorporated the identity and know-how of its flagship shopping mall Starfield into Emart. The proportion of existing Emart stores has been reduced while the proportion of leased stores (tenants) has been increased to enhance revenue.
In fact, the Jukjeon store features a background inspired by 'Starfield Library,' a symbol of Starfield, on the first floor. The second floor has a kids' lounge and other spaces for customers to stay, and it has expanded leased stores of various brands by 70% while reducing the store size by 40%. The supermarket functions have been enhanced by strengthening groceries.
As a result, the store achieved clear results in customer influx and sales increase. After the renewal opened in August last year, the number of visitors increased by 47% compared to the previous year over the course of a month, and new customer influx rose by 173%. Sales also surged by 46% during the same period, ranking first among all Emart stores. Customer dwell time increased significantly, with the number of customers spending 3 to 5 hours in the store rising by 306%.
Emart's experiment in overcoming the limitations of offline retail has paid off. Therefore, Emart has decided to accelerate the conversion to Starfield Market. According to ChosunBiz, the Dongtan and Gyeongsan stores have been selected as the next targets for renewal and are set to begin this year.
Dongtan and Gyeongsan are considered optimal locations for the Starfield Market conversion. Dongtan is a representative new town in the southern metropolitan area. There is high demand for experiential shopping malls due to the large number of young people and family customers. Gyeongsan also has a high floating population in the Daegu and Gyeongbuk areas, forming a commercial district suitable for establishing a new form of large supermarket.
The Starfield Market renewal is regarded as a flagship project of Emart CEO Han Chae-yang. CEO Han is exploring new possibilities for offline retail by integrating innovative space planning into large supermarkets.
Previously, CEO Han noted, "In an increasingly competitive retail market, creating attractive spaces that can occupy customers' time is essential to enhance the competitiveness of supermarkets," and added, "Starfield Market is the optimal shopping space that combines Emart's grocery enhancement strategy with Starfield's tenant management know-how."
Thanks to these efforts, Emart is gradually emerging from the depths of poor performance. In the third quarter of last year, Emart recorded a consolidated revenue of 7.5085 trillion won, a decrease of 2.6% compared to the same period last year, but operating profit increased by 43.4% to 111.7 billion won, marking the highest operating profit since the first quarter of 2021.
Overcoming the limitations of offline retail is a challenge at the Shinsegae Group level. This is because the core retail business has been overshadowed by e-commerce and needs to find growth momentum again. Chung Yong-jin, chairman of Shinsegae Group, has emphasized that "our competition will be with theme parks or baseball stadiums," stating that retail space must be transformed from a consumption space to an experiential space.
A retail industry official stated, "The conversion of Emart's Dongtan and Gyeongsan stores to Starfield Market is not just a simple store renewal, but a signal for a nationwide expansion strategy," and added, "The key is to provide a differentiated space that combines leisure and experience, rather than just a shopping space."