More partner companies are halting or cutting back supplies of goods because of worsening management at Homeplus Co. With payments for already delivered goods delayed and fewer customers visiting Homeplus Co., supplies are tightening. For now, even corporations with no immediate changes are closely watching delivery conditions.
According to related industries on the 8th, Samyang Foods Co. stopped supplying major products such as Buldak spicy ramyeon, other ramyeon, and sauces to Homeplus Co. from the end of last month. As unpaid receivables for delivered goods piled up, it halted new deliveries. All products currently sold at Homeplus Co. are existing inventory.
In the case of Amorepacific Co., accounts receivable were not collected normally, so it already stopped new deliveries in Aug. The products are branded items sold at cosmetic shops inside Homeplus Co., and the company said only items supplied before Aug. are currently being sold.
Some corporations have not completely stopped deliveries but are reducing or adjusting volumes. LG H&H recently cut some of the product volume going to Homeplus Co. By category, a large share is daily necessities such as toothpaste, detergent, and shampoo, and beverages such as Coca-Cola also account for part.
For Orion, the volume of snacks supplied to Homeplus Co. remains at 80% to 90% of normal levels. An Orion official said, "We are continuing deliveries, but volumes are down compared with before Homeplus Co.'s management deterioration became full-fledged."
LOTTE Wellfood is also steadily supplying products, but it is continually adjusting delivery volumes after reviewing the status of payments. Key items are snacks, ice cream, and frozen foods. A LOTTE Wellfood official said, "Delivery conditions keep changing," and "We are conservatively adjusting volumes so that receivables do not increase further."
Food and beverage and daily necessities corporations that are supplying products as before are likewise monitoring the situation while continuing talks with Homeplus Co. CJ CheilJedang, Pulmuone, Otoki, Dongwon Industries, Aekyung Industrial Co., HiteJinro, Daesang, Seoul Dairy Cooperative, Maeil Dairies Co., and Namyang Dairy Products Co. said there have been no changes in delivery conditions.
Some of these temporarily halted deliveries after Homeplus Co. began corporate rehabilitation proceedings in March. In March, Seoul Dairy Cooperative, Nongshim Co., Otoki, and LOTTE Chilsung Beverage suspended deliveries as transaction terms changed and later resumed. In May, Binggrae Co. and Maeil Dairies Co. also stopped deliveries over payment and volume issues, then normalized supplies in June after a month of talks.
A food industry official said, "Depending on Homeplus Co.'s ordering situation, delivery volumes could decrease, so we are monitoring," and added, "Because the structure is such that if consumers (customers) visiting stores decrease, product sales also fall, it is hard to see either side unilaterally reducing or stopping volumes."
Homeplus Co., which has yet to find a suitable buyer, is seeing its cash crunch deepen. In addition to payments due to partner companies and store tenants, it has also failed to pay about 70 billion won in taxes, including comprehensive real estate tax and value-added taxes. Including overdue electricity bills and National Pension contributions, the unpaid expense swells to the 90 billion won range.