#Bae, a person surnamed Bae (67) who lives in Dongdaemun District, Seoul, ordered about 2 kilograms of premium Korean beef, known as hanwoo sirloin from the Homeplus Co. online mall on the 13th, when the company resumed operations. Planning to eat it with family over the weekend, Bae ordered products to be delivered from the Homeplus Co. Wolgok branch and completed payment. But on the 15th, the scheduled delivery date, Bae suddenly received a text message that the order was canceled. Although the item was marked as available for purchase at the time of ordering, the order was canceled on the delivery day two days later due to being out of stock.
After Homeplus Co. reopened, it has been drawing customers back on the strength of large-scale discount events like half-price premium Korean beef, known as hanwoo, but product supply remains far from smooth. Offline, some popular items sell out right after opening, and online, cases continue in which items that had been ordered and paid for are canceled later.
According to related industries on the 20th, after Homeplus Co. resumed operations at 67 stores nationwide on the 13th, its sales over five days jumped to nearly triple the level before the shutdown, marking an early success. Of these, 59 stores also restarted online ordering and delivery.
Homeplus Co. launched a large-scale discount with its "Homeple is back (is Back)" event to coincide with the reopening. At some stores, customers even lined up before opening in an "open run." In particular, the meat section, which sold premium Korean beef, known as hanwoo and pork at up to half price, was flooded with customers, and the prepared stock sold out in minutes.
Homeplus Co. said that total sales over the five days from the 13th to the 17th came to 43.7 billion won, up 191% from 15 billion won during July 2–6 before the provisional suspension. During the same period, average daily sales rose from about 3 billion won to 8.7 billion won, and the average daily number of customers increased 74% from 138,200 to 239,600.
Homeplus Co. sees significance not in a one-day spike but in the steady customer footfall over the five days since reopening. A Homeplus Co. official said, "Compared to before the provisional suspension, sales have expanded by about 2.9 times, and the steady flow of customers since reopening is a positive indicator that shows the potential for normalization ahead."
But product supply is not normalizing as quickly as customers are returning. In particular, since operations resumed, items marked as available at the time of ordering and paid for in the online order and delivery process have been canceled before delivery due to reasons such as being out of stock.
Similar accounts have been posted on the Homeplus Co. application (app) and online communities. One member said, "I ordered several items, but the eggs were canceled without separate consent and only the remaining items were delivered." Some also complained that if the order and payment were already completed, the delivery volume should have been secured in advance.
Order cancellations are not limited to fresh foods like premium Korean beef, known as hanwoo or eggs. There were also cases in which orders for manufactured goods, such as charcoal or water-play tubes, were canceled due to being out of stock. Some customers said they learned while waiting for delivery that they would not receive the product and ended up having to buy it again from another seller.
In fact, there are quite a few out-of-stock items on the Homeplus Co. online mall. While inventory status varies by delivery area, some stores show many raw meat items, including premium Korean beef, known as hanwoo, chicken, and pork, as out of stock.
Major promotional items are also hard to find offline. Popular promotional items like premium Korean beef, known as hanwoo sell out quickly right after opening as prepared quantities are depleted, and online reactions say that to buy what you want, you essentially have to do an "open run."
Even before the suspension, Homeplus Co. experienced supply disruptions as financial difficulties led some suppliers to cut off or reduce product supply, leaving empty shelves in places. Although the company moved to secure products ahead of reopening, out-of-stocks and order cancellations continue both online and offline after the reopening.
Amid this, Homeplus Co. will hold a three-day "customer appreciation special sale" starting on the 21st, rolling out additional discounts. It will discount some meats, including premium Korean beef, known as hanwoo and pork, by up to 50% and sell fresh foods such as blue crabs and eggs at special prices. Some key promotional items will be excluded from online sales, and Homeplus Co. has advised that early sellouts are possible depending on store inventory levels.
Homeplus Co. recently secured 200 billion won in debtor-in-possession (DIP) emergency operating funds, but the issue of unpaid amounts owed to suppliers remains a challenge. The previous day, suppliers asked the court to include a specific repayment plan for about 793.9 billion won in unpaid trade public-interest claims in the rehabilitation plan. The deadline for approval of the rehabilitation plan is until Sept. 4.