I came here with my friends after hearing the news that it opens today. The meat products are particularly cheap, so I think I'll be visiting often.
At 10 a.m. on the 17th, Emart Foodmarket in Gangdong-gu, Seoul opened. As soon as the store entrance opened on the first day, a line of customers with shopping carts continued to enter. The area that attracted the most crowds was the butcher section. There were price tags on the packaging of domestic chilled pork belly and neck saying "1,280 won per 100g." Beef sirloin was selling at 6,690 won per 100g for Grade 1+ and 5,940 won per 100g for Grade 1 (discounts applied based on Shinsegae points).
A 30-something housewife, who filled her shopping cart with meat products, noted, "I usually have a community with other housewives, and one friend shared that a new store is opening today, so I came here this morning," adding, "Even compared to online shopping malls, the price range looks advantageous. I plan to come again tomorrow."
The newly opened Emart Foodmarket in Godeok is located in a 4,925 square meter (about 1,490 pyeong) space on the basement level of 'Gangdong I-Park the River' in Gangdong-gu, Seoul. Godeok is the second store opened by Emart in the year after the warehouse-style discount store 'Trader's Wholesale Club Magok' opened in Gangseo-gu in February. This marks the first time in 13 years since 2012 that Emart has opened two stores in the Seoul area within a year.
The Godeok store was established as a specialized store called 'Foodmarket' focusing on fresh produce. This store format was first introduced by Emart in December of last year at the Daegu Suseong store. It aims to provide a variety of fresh and processed foods at prices 20 to 50% lower than regular discount stores. Accordingly, Godeok has allocated 1,050 pyeong of its total store area (1,490 pyeong) to food displays and diversified its range of over 13,000 items.
Even after the opening commemoration discount event, which lasts until the 20th, Godeok plans to sell frequently sought 'top 10 fresh products' at their lowest prices, including pork belly and neck (1,980 won per 100g), marinated beef bulgogi (9,980 won for an 800g pack), onions (1,980 won per kg), and bananas (980 won for a bunch).
Emart's establishment of the Godeok store as a 'Foodmarket' is intended to differentiate it from neighboring markets and enhance competitiveness. The Gangdong I-Park the River, where the Godeok store is located, will host brands with strengths in various fields, including the global home furnishing brand IKEA (IKEA), fashion platform Musinsa Standard, lifestyle retailer Modern House, and cosmetic retailer CJ Olive Young. Many of these brands share a large overlap in the product range with traditional Emart stores.
Emart explained that it also took into account the surrounding commercial areas with a high concentration of office workers. The Godeok Biz Valley, where the store is located, is a commercial and business complex built in the areas of Godeok-dong and Gangil-dong, covering an area of 234,523 square meters (about 70,900 pyeong). To date, 18 mid-sized corporations have acquired land here to build their headquarters, and six companies, including JYP Entertainment, are also pushing to construct their offices.
Emart stated, "We anticipate a significant influx of customers from the 2030 generation, and reflecting the characteristics of the new city, many residents will also be in the 3040 generation, so we differentiated our model specialized in fresh produce and ready-to-eat deli products."
However, competition with nearby Hypermarkets, including Homeplus Gangdong (2.7 km, about 12 minutes by car), Costco Hanam (3.6 km, about 14 minutes by car), and Lotte Mart Cheonho (3.9 km, about 15 minutes by car), is expected to be unavoidable. Notably, the Lotte Mart Cheonho, which opened on Jan. 16, is also a grocery-focused store that filled 80% of its total store area with fresh and prepared foods, similar to Emart Godeok.
Emart plans to compete not only on price competitiveness by offering essential products at the lowest prices but also through product differentiation via a variety of healthy, unique, and premium ingredients. Reflecting the growing interest in slow aging trends, they have created 'Global Garden' featuring imported fruits and European vegetables, as well as 'Fresh Snack Zone' with wellness snacks including cup fruits and stick vegetables.
Emart also explained that it diversified the types of meat to satisfy various customer demands. They have specified domestic black pig breeds as 'Our Black Pork,' 'Nan Chook Mat Don,' and 'Berkshire K,' which are not easily found online or in other markets. For beef, Emart has introduced Australian 'Darling Downs Wagyu' and 'Black Angus' through an exclusive contract with their agency. Choi Jin-il, Emart's managing director of innovation, said, "Meat products account for the largest expenditure for customers visiting offline markets, so we have particularly focused on preparing them."
Emart recorded sales of 29.0209 trillion won and an operating profit of 471 billion won last year. Although sales decreased by 1.53% compared to the previous year, they achieved a turnaround to profit. The industry assesses that their approach of integrating purchases that were previously spread over three divisions—Emart, Traders, and Everyday—into product units and conducting bulk purchases has effectively enhanced cost competitiveness.
Emart has been reducing the number of stores since 2020, but it is increasing again this year. Following the openings of Trader's Magok (February) and Emart Foodmarket Godeok (April), they plan to open a new Trader's store in Guwol-dong, Incheon, in the second half of the year. They also plan to secure additional sites for five new stores. An Emart official noted, "This year, we plan to actively pursue physical growth while strengthening our competitiveness in the offline distribution business."