Homeplus Co. is preparing to reopen the 67 stores that are currently temporarily closed and, among them, aims to resume online delivery (mart direct delivery) at 20 stores, according to information confirmed on the 30th. Compared with the period before operations were halted, when 41 of the 67 stores ran online delivery, that is about half.
The company is preparing to open around Aug. 10, but the execution of 200 billion won in debtor-in-possession (DIP) emergency operating funds is being delayed, putting the entire schedule at risk of being pushed back. The labor union urged Meritz Financial Group to release the funds quickly.
According to official letters exchanged between Homeplus Co. and the Homeplus General Labor Union, the company, in a reply sent to the union on the 29th, proposed 20 stores as the targets for resuming online delivery. In Seoul and the capital area: Yeongdeungpo, Geumcheon, Gangseo, Hapjeong, Namhyeon, World Cup, and Sindorim; and in Incheon and Gyeonggi: Ganseok, Jakjeon, Gimpo, Incheon Cheongna, Inha, North Suwon, Yeongtong, Siwha, Pyeongchon, West Suwon, Yatap, Byeongjeom, and Osan. The company said, "Given limits on available capacity, we will start with a small number of vans and staff per store." All 67 offline stores will open, but because there is not enough capacity to revive online at once, operations will start with 20.
The restart timing depends on DIP execution. In the letter, the company said, "Once DIP funds flow in, we can operate after partially resolving unpaid freight charges, and for now we aim to start alongside the formal opening of hyper (large-format) stores." Because payments to carriers that handled deliveries during the shutdown are in arrears, it is structurally impossible to resume online and offline simultaneously without the funds. For the assortment, the company said it is "planning to execute first and then calibrate, in line with reduced store floor space and narrowed product range."
On-site preparations appear to be well advanced. According to the union, stores have completed test runs, activating POS payment systems, refrigerators and freezers, and HVAC units. Talks with suppliers are also underway. Previously, payments were made 60 days after goods were received, but major suppliers have indicated a willingness to deliver as contracts are being rewritten with a sharply shortened payment cycle. The mall division, which manages leased stores, is continuing talks with tenants on re-entry.
Time is the issue. Even if funds arrive, it takes about four days to stock products, and with the vacation season spanning late this month to early next month, if execution is delayed by a few days, the opening schedule will slip by weeks. The deadline for approval of Homeplus Co.'s rehabilitation plan is Sept. 4.
Ryu Geun-rim, secretary-general of the Homeplus General Union, said, "The stores have finished testing, but we are at a standstill because the money hasn't come in," and added, "We expect to open around Aug. 10, but if the funds trickle in around the middle of next week, we'll be pushed back another week." Ryu appealed, "It's also important to show creditors that normalization is underway, but if delays continue like this, we may not even get started and the lights could go out."
On the 16th, Meritz Financial Group approved a 200 billion won DIP loan at its board meeting on condition of a joint guarantee by MBK Partners and Chairman Kim Byung-ju, and on the 21st, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court canceled its decision to terminate rehabilitation proceedings. Homeplus Co. has temporarily suspended operations at 67 stores nationwide since the 13th.