According to Chosun Ilbo, South KoreaÂ’s largest hypermarket chain E-Mart has had more than 1 billion shoppers since it opened its first center.
As of late May, the discount store had registered 1.01 billion customers - counting visits rather than separate individuals - and revenues of roughly $33.3 billion. E-Mart opened its first store in Chang-dong, Seoul in November 1993.
The company said if a customer wandered around an average of 1 km of aisles per visit, the cumulative distance shoppers traveled from onions to chewing gum was equivalent to going round the earth 25,000 times.
In celebration, E-Mart is holding its biggest blowout sale ever until June 15. It will offer free, 1 million units of commodities like soap and detergent to customers with coupons. It will also offer 1 million watermelons at a 40 percent discount.
A surprise discount of 60 percent will also be offered until Friday to unsuspecting customers on an item they have chosen.
In summer 1994 in Ansan City, just outside of Seoul, I still remember when E-mart first opened it\'s doors. It was an instant sensation since it was at the time the largest store in the city. However, compared to what I was used to back in the US, it was still far smaller than an ordinary Walmart. Floor layout also struck me as being inadequate.
ReplyDeleteFast forward to 2003 with new discounts stores Carrefour (a French-owned global chain), Homeplus (a joint venture between Samsung and Tesco of the UK) and a new E-Mart store built just 2-3 miles from the old one... Emart may be the biggest chain in Korea, but Homeplus is the up-and-coming chain with far more traffic than Emart. Interestingly, even with the best location smack in the middle of the city, Carrefour must be bleeding money as it seems nobody goes. I can\'t figure out why, as all three stores seem equally good, but my wife and all her friends are unanimous in favoring Homeplus.
Interestingly, Walmart has never acheived the level of success in Korea as they have made in China. Perhaps, as Steven has noted thsi can be explained since there are several Korean large discount stores vying for customers.
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