The fixed-price household goods chain Asung Daiso Co. is expanding its business by growing its stores and logistics network at the same time. It is increasing the number of large-format stores measuring hundreds of pyeong in key commercial districts, while more frequently opening outlets in partnership with hypermarkets and shopping malls. It is also strengthening its supply chain by building new logistics bases to support the growing number of stores and products.
According to the retail industry on the 10th, Asung Daiso Co. recently unveiled a series of large stores of around 500 pyeong in Busan. After significantly expanding the existing store at Lotte Mart Busan, it also enlarged and reopened the Sasang store. By bringing together a variety of items such as cosmetics, fashion, and dietary supplements, consumers have been calling them so-called "mega Daiso" stores, sharing visit reviews.
A large-format opening is also planned in Seoul. Lotte Department Store plans to open a new annex in a mixed-use shopping mall format near the Cheongnyangni branch in Oct. this year, where a large Asung Daiso Co. store will move in. Not only in neighborhood commercial areas with small and midsize outlets, but also inside large retail facilities with heavy foot traffic—such as hypermarkets and mixed-use malls—the number of sizable stores is growing.
This expansion approach is not limited to major downtowns. Asung Daiso Co. signed a business agreement with NongHyup Economic Holdings in May to expand openings inside Hanaro Mart. With many of the roughly 2,200 Hanaro Marts located in fishing and farming villages and eup-myeon regions, the company plans to broaden its store network into areas relatively short on commercial facilities.
In recent years, Asung Daiso Co. has both increased store count and upsized stores. Domestic Asung Daiso Co. locations rose from 1,339 in 2020 to over 1,600 last year. Nine of the 10 largest stores by floor area nationwide opened within the past three years, and all are over 700 pyeong. The largest in Korea is the E-MART Uiwang branch at about 830 pyeong.
The range of products handled by Asung Daiso Co. has grown significantly. As sales expanded beyond household goods to cosmetics, fashion, dietary supplements, and character merchandise, it now carries about 30,000 items. In particular, it has recently focused on beauty. This month near Konkuk Univ. Station in Seoul, it even opened a beauty-focused store where about 80% of the assortment is cosmetics.
With stores and product lines expanding together, the company is also accelerating logistics network growth. Asung Daiso Co. currently supplies products to stores nationwide through major logistics hubs, including the Namsa Hub Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi, and the Busan Hub Center. It plans to build three large new logistics bases in Yangju, Gyeonggi, and Sejong.
In Sejong, a hub center supplying stores in the central region and an online center processing Daisomall orders will be established together. This follows both the expansion of the offline store network in the central region and a rise in order volume through the online mall. The Sejong and Yangju hub centers are slated for completion in Feb. 2027 and Jan. 2029, respectively.
As more consumers seek value-for-money products amid high inflation, Asung Daiso Co.'s scale continues to grow. Last year's sales were 4.5363 trillion won, up 14.3% from the previous year. Operating profit for the same period rose 19.2% to 442.4 billion won. After surpassing 3 trillion won in sales in 2023, it reached 3.9689 trillion won in 2024 and exceeded 4.5 trillion won last year. The retail industry is watching to see whether Asung Daiso Co.'s sales will top 5 trillion won this year.
An Asung Daiso Co. official said, "We will continue to introduce more than 600 new products every month and steadily open large stores preferred by customers," adding, "We will maintain our growth by offering a wide range of products at fixed prices."