As Homeplus enters corporate rehabilitation proceedings, it is starting to sequentially pay off its debts. However, controversy continues over the settlement cycle. This is because Homeplus, the second-largest retailer, has a longer settlement cycle compared to Lotte Shopping or Emart. Food manufacturers are gradually resuming deliveries to Homeplus, but manufacturers that have not yet made a decision and small businesses within Homeplus are showing unease regarding the settlement cycle.
According to the distribution industry on the 10th, Homeplus's settlement cycle ranges from 45 to 60 days. Among large supermarkets, this is considered long. Emart has an average cycle of about 25 days, while Lotte Mart settles within 20 to 30 days. This is also why Homeplus has been anxious, as it applied for corporate rehabilitation proceedings and the businesses in its stores did not receive settlement for the January and February sales.
One Homeplus retailer noted, “If we had a settlement cycle like Emart or Lotte Mart, only the problems with the February sales would have occurred,” adding, “Large food firms like Nongshim or ORION may not face major issues if their funds are delayed by a day or two, but for smaller businesses like us, the situation is different.” Homeplus retailers include pharmacies, clothing stores, snack shops, and massage equipment stores. There are about 8,000 retailers within Homeplus, which use large supermarket cash registers to settle their sales.
Homeplus's settlement cycle is also long compared to e-commerce platform companies. According to a survey conducted after the Timi (Tmon and Wemap) incident, most large online platforms have a settlement cycle of within 10 days. A survey of 29 platforms with sales exceeding 1 trillion won and revenue exceeding 100 billion won by Jeon Jun-ho's office in the Democratic Party found that 19 of these, or 65%, had settlement cycles within 10 days. Only six platforms, or about 20%, settle within 40 to 60 days, similar to Homeplus.
A distribution industry insider remarked, “While online and offline distribution platforms might differ in structure due to issues such as rent, Homeplus, despite being the second-largest retailer, is still considered slow in terms of settlements across both online and offline channels,” adding, “Without corrections in this area, it will be difficult to regain the trust of partner companies.”
Meanwhile, Homeplus is working to quell the anxieties of its partners. In a statement released that day, Homeplus announced that with the approval of its application for a 'rehabilitation claim payment authorization' from the court, it would minimize the anxiety and inconvenience of its partners by paying off all trading claims.
A Homeplus representative stated, “We will prioritize payments of rehabilitation claims for small business owners, micro-enterprises, and labor costs, and we also plan to make partitioning repayments for large corporate claims,” adding, “If partners need to take out emergency loans due to delayed payments, we will also pay the interest.” Homeplus's detailed payment plan is expected to be shared with partner companies by the 14th.