At 10:30 a.m. on the 7th, Homeplus Co. Yatap in Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi. On the glass window connecting the parking lot to the store, a poster read "Homepl is Back" and "The mart and mall are operating as normal." Having secured 200 billion won in emergency debtor-in-possession (DIP) operating funds, Homeplus Co. soft-opened (temporary opening) 67 stores nationwide starting that day.
Some products were restocked in the fresh food section that had been empty on the 7th of last month. Near the entrance, the fruit display tables were packed with bananas, watermelons, kiwis and oranges. In the meat section, where knives and scissors had been placed instead of meat, premium Korean beef, known as hanwoo, pork and chicken returned, and in the seafood section, small quantities of salted mackerel and hairtail found their place. At the refrigerated displays, staff kept stocking bean sprouts and eggs to fill the empty spaces.
The atmosphere was quite different compared with when the focus was on clearing inventory on the 7th of last month. Discount notices such as "50% off" and "1+1," membership sign-up prompts, and displays stocked only with the private-brand (PB) "Simplus" were greatly reduced. Manufacturer brand (NB) products such as Baeksul were placed in prominent spots, and effort was made to present a normal product lineup by organizing the shelves by item.
But it still seemed there was a long way to go before full normal operations. The farther inside one went, the more empty shelves continued, and signs reading "Preparing for product receipt" were posted where items had not arrived. Some areas had shelves removed altogether, so although things looked tidier than on the 7th of last month, the shortage of stock was even more evident. Displays that looked filled from a distance told a different story up close.
Some sections also had display (DP) items that were not for sale. In the kitchenware area, there were pots or bowls with cracked lids. When a customer examined a product, an employee said, "That is a DP item, and you should look only at products with price tags." It seemed there still was not enough capacity to fill displays solely with sellable inventory.
Signs of a soft opening were evident outside the store as well. The fourth floor of the parking lot dedicated to Homeplus Co. was still being prepared and was restricted, with operations said to resume on the 8th. The area where online order deliveries are processed was dark and not operating, and part of the cart storage area was also cordoned off.
Employees were busy preparing for the official opening next week by stocking products and putting up notices. Managers, including the store manager, carried radios and made the rounds to frequently check operations with staff. When asked about preparations for opening, however, they said, "Please communicate through headquarters," and held back from further comment.
Quite a few customers who saw the news of Homeplus Co.'s soft opening online came to the store. Compared with the 7th of last month, more customers put fresh foods like fruit and meat in their carts, and demand remained steady for items like pants with steep discounts in the clothing section, where people picked multiple pairs. It appears that typical grocery shopping coexisted with bargain hunting.
According to Homeplus Co., the product receipt rate that day was about 30%. The company plans to continue receiving products and checking operations through the 12th, then officially open on the 13th. A Homeplus Co. representative said, "A soft opening is the final preparation step before the official opening to check whether overall systems operate normally in a real sales environment and to supplement deficiencies," adding, "All products are expected to be perfectly ready by the 13th."
Earlier, the Homeplus general labor union said the previous day that disruptions in product supply were ongoing and cited restoring trust with suppliers and normalizing the fresh food supply chain as key tasks. In particular, the union stressed that the resumption of deliveries by NongHyup, which has handled more than half of Homeplus Co.'s fresh foods, would determine the success or failure of normalizing operations.
The Democratic Party of Korea's Euljiro Committee held a press conference at the National Assembly with the Mart Industry Labor Union that day, appealing for people to use Homeplus Co. The Euljiro Committee said, "With the public's grocery shopping, please protect 100,000 jobs and our neighborhood economy together," adding, "Just because the store lights are back on does not mean normalization is over."