Homeplus announced on the 19th that LOTTE Chilsung Beverage and LG Electronics have resumed supply, and the supply agreement has entered its final stages.
LOTTE Chilsung Beverage suspended supply on the 6th after Homeplus entered corporate rehabilitation procedures but resumed on the 18th. Other food companies also suspended supply and resumed after a few days, but LOTTE Chilsung had been negotiating with Homeplus for a long time to normalize the supply.
LG Electronics also temporarily suspended supply from the 6th, with Homeplus having paid for sales up to the 5th, ensuring normal deliveries to existing customers, and discussions regarding future shipments have been ongoing. LG Electronics resumed supply from that day.
Homeplus explained in a press release that 'supply agreements have entered the final stages with major partners including LG Electronics and LOTTE Chilsung Beverage' and that 'trade receivables are being paid sequentially according to the repayment plan.'
Homeplus stated that it has been regularly paying trade receivables, including payment for supply, since the 4th.
However, regarding the delayed trade receivables that accumulated from last December to January and February of this year, payments are being made first to small and micro businesses. As of the morning of that day, the cumulative payment amount for trade receivables is 378 billion won. Homeplus also reported that a significant amount of settlement payments to tenant proprietors has been completed.
Homeplus expressed, 'We are currently operating normally after paying delayed payments to almost all vendors, except for some large corporations and brand proprietors,' and urged, 'Please use the company point-of-sale instead of personal point-of-sale devices to avoid misunderstandings in the settlement process.'
It added, 'We are considering measures to alleviate the concerns of vendors about potential delays in payments.' Homeplus also clarified matters regarding allegations that were concentrated during the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee's inquiry the day before.
Homeplus reiterated its previous claim that, 'Sales have increased compared to 2023, the liability ratio has improved, and with due diligence for the sale of Express (supermarket) approaching, it did not expect a downgrade in its credit rating.'
It also denied allegations that preparations for the rehabilitation application were made at least one or two months in advance due to the large number of application documents. Homeplus asserted, 'The documents that need to be obtained from relevant institutions among the rehabilitation application documents are the corporate registration certificate and the business registration certificate, which are regularly obtained for public office business and transaction purposes and kept by the company; the rest of the documents are all internal company materials, so the preparation of application documents did not take long.'
Regarding the proactive application for rehabilitation despite not going bankrupt, it explained, 'Considering the tens of thousands of stakeholders, we believed that if a payment inability situation arose, coordination would be impossible, so we deemed it better to proceed with the rehabilitation process while negotiating.'
Homeplus also clarified that the increase in the amount of accounts payable asset-backed securitization before the application for rehabilitation was due to 'the period from December to February being peak season, with sales increasing compared to the off-peak November, leading to increased purchases and consequently an increase in accounts payable securitization.'