As the offline downturn has slowed the race to open new stores in the retail sector, corporations are focusing on remodeling existing stores to draw visitors and boost sales. Beyond simply changing signs or refreshing interiors, they have reworked traffic flow and expanded experiential spaces to bring customers in. The industry expects these store remodeling cases to continue to grow.
According to the retail industry on the 13th, Shinsegae Department Store's Gangnam branch surpassed 3 trillion won in cumulative sales from Jan. 1 to Nov. 7 this year. That is up 8.1% from a year earlier, reaching the 3 trillion won mark about three weeks earlier than last year.
This is thanks to a large-scale food hall remodel that began last year, which brought in more customers. The Gangnam branch kicked off the food hall remodeling project last year by unveiling the dessert specialty zone "Sweet Park" and the premium food hall "House of Shinsegae."
In March this year, it remodeled the supermarket within the food hall into the 600-pyeong (about 1,980㎡), the largest among department stores in the Seoul area, "Shinsegae Market," strengthening its product lineup and personalized services. In August, it opened a 1,200-pyeong "premium deli specialty zone" on the first basement level, bringing in popular dining brands from Korea and abroad. It also created a "health specialty zone" selling dietary supplements and a "traditional liquor specialty zone" that gathers alcoholic beverages from across the country.
With the remodel completed, the Gangnam branch's food hall sales area expanded to 6,000 pyeong (about 19,800㎡), the largest in Korea. A Shinsegae Department Store official said, "Buoyed by the various remodeling results, we are aiming for 4 trillion won in sales next year."
The convenience store sector is also seeing results from remodels targeting franchise locations. GS25 this year ramped up its "scrap and build" project, which expands stores or relocates them to better sites for branches that are aged or have weak sales. It is also simultaneously converting stores, depending on the commercial district, into locations specialized in alcohol or fresh foods. Thanks to these efforts, GS25's same-store sales, excluding new stores, rose 4.4% in the third quarter from a year earlier.
In addition, CU increased this year's investment budget for store renovations and the number of supported stores by more than 50% from last year. 7-Eleven also rolled out a new franchise model with a fresh concept, "New Wave," in October last year and is working to improve efficiency at existing stores.
Emart has been introducing a new store format called "Starfield Market" since 2023, remodeling large stores near major residential areas in sequence. Starfield Market is a brand that blends Emart's retail know-how with the customer-friendly space planning capabilities of "Starfield," Korea's first and largest hybrid shopping mall.
Emart remodeled three locations into Starfield Markets this year: Ilsan Kintex (June), Hwaseong Dongtan (July), and Gyeongbuk Gyeongsan (August). By the end of September, the Ilsan store's sales and customer numbers had risen 66% and 110%, respectively, from a year earlier. Sales at the Dongtan and Gyeongsan stores also increased 18% and 21%, respectively.
As remodeling aging stores has translated into actual sales results, some are making bold decisions to secure conditions for long-term investment. Lotte Department Store had the operating rights to the commercial facilities at Yeongdeungpo Station, where its Yeongdeungpo branch is located, through 2029, but returned them this year. It determined that a long-term remodel was needed to strengthen the Yeongdeungpo branch's competitiveness, and that the remaining four years were not enough. Lotte Department Store plans to secure long-term operating rights through a new bid and then proceed with the remodel.
A retail industry official said, "Department stores, big-box stores, and convenience stores have largely completed entry into major hubs nationwide," adding, "With offline retail conditions weak, companies are focused on improving efficiency at existing stores to raise sales and profitability rather than aggressively increasing store counts."