With department stores showing strong performance since the start of the year, expectations are growing that regional hub stores will reach 1 trillion won in annual sales. As Lotte Department Store Incheon set a goal of 1 trillion won in annual sales this year, Gwangju Shinsegae, representing the Honam region, is also emerging as a candidate for the next 1 trillion-won store. Following Busan and Daegu, a 1 trillion-won store also appeared in Daejeon last year, showing that department store growth is spreading beyond the Seoul-Gyeonggi area to key cities in each region.
According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources' "March 2026 major retailers' sales trends" on the 2nd, the average sales per store at 56 domestic department stores continued double-digit growth this year. The year-over-year growth rate was 17.4% in January, 30.1% in February, and 18.8% in March. With an increase in foreign tourists and demand for spring outings and the new school term, sales rose evenly across all institutional sectors, including overseas luxury brands, fashion and accessories, and children and sports.
Among major offline retail formats, department stores posted the most pronounced growth. In March, department store companies' sales rose 14.7% year over year, far outpacing the convenience stores' growth rate of 2.7%. In contrast, hypermarkets and super supermarkets (SSMs) fell 15.2% and 8.6%, respectively, showing weak trends.
Buoyed by these market conditions, Lotte Department Store Incheon recently set a goal of achieving 1 trillion won in annual sales this year. Lotte Incheon posted 829.8 billion won in sales last year, ranking 14th among department stores nationwide. To surpass 1 trillion won this year, it needs about 20.5% sales growth from a year earlier.
Lotte Incheon is considered a regional hub store that draws demand not only from Incheon but also from western Gyeonggi Province, thanks to its location advantage consolidated with Incheon Terminal. Unlike other metropolitan cities, Incheon has only Lotte among the five major department store brands—Lotte, Shinsegae, Hyundai, Galleria, and AK—resulting in relatively less competition among companies.
Lotte Incheon is also counting on customer-drawing effects from its renewal. Since 2023, Lotte Department Store has been renovating the Incheon store, sequentially overhauling the food hall, beauty hall, premium kids hall, women's fashion hall, and luxury fashion hall. Lotte Group is also pushing to create the third "Lotte Town" after Myeong-dong and Jamsil, centered on the Incheon store. Lotte Town is a mixed retail district that brings together shopping, culture, and entertainment.
Shinsegae Gwangju is also cited as a candidate for the next 1 trillion-won store as the leading department store in the Honam region. The Gwangju store posted 819.1 billion won in sales last year, ranking 15th among department stores nationwide.
The Gwangju store has recently been accelerating efforts to strengthen its MD (merchandise mix) targeting younger customers. Recently, it opened the Honam region's first offline store for Musinsa Standard, drawing online-based fashion demand offline. The plan is to boost foot traffic by expanding popular fashion and lifestyle brands that have been hard to find in the region.
In addition, Shinsegae is pursuing a complex development project around Gwangcheon Terminal and an expansion of the department store to grow sales at the Gwangju store and strengthen competitiveness within the region. The plan is to build a landmark department store on the bus terminal site that combines shopping, culture, and art functions to reinforce its position as the Honam region's leading commercial district. Once development gets into full swing, it is expected to capture not only existing Gwangju and South Jeolla demand but also external regional demand, securing room for growth.
In the department store industry, 1 trillion won in annual sales is regarded as more than a simple size metric; it serves as a benchmark indicating dominance in the regional market. Outside the Seoul metropolitan area, Shinsegae Department Store Centum City in Busan first reached 1 trillion won in annual sales in 2016, and in 2023 it became the first regional department store to surpass 2 trillion won in annual sales. Lotte Department Store Busan Main also topped 1 trillion won in annual sales in 2019, joining the 1 trillion-won competition in the Busan market.
In Daegu, Shinsegae Daegu joined the 1 trillion club in 2021. Shinsegae Daegu achieved 1 trillion won in annual sales four years and 11 months after opening in 2016. Last year, it posted sales in the mid-1.6 trillion won range, maintaining its position as Daegu's No. 1 department store.
Last year, Daejeon also saw its first 1 trillion-won store. Daejeon Shinsegae Art&Science surpassed 1 trillion won in annual sales four years after opening in Aug. 2021.
A department store industry official said, "With 1 trillion-won stores emerging in Daejeon following Busan and Daegu, the axis of department store growth is spreading beyond the Seoul-Gyeonggi area to key cities in each region."