April 19, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Competition among shopping malls is set to heat up in northern Seoul with new shopping complexes envisioned by rival retail giants Lotte and Shinsegae.

Both of the new shopping malls will be shopping and entertainment complexes, following the recent trend of combining shopping with other experiences. 

They are planned for the northwestern and northeastern corners of Seoul, away from existing shopping malls such as Lotte World Mall and Shinsegae’s Starfield Hanam.

 

Shinsegae's Starfield Hanam

Lotte Mall Eunpyeong, which opens on Nov. 17 will be the first large-scale shopping mall complex in the northwestern area of Seoul. Consisting of two basement floors and nine above ground, it will include a shopping mall, supermarket, movie theater and kids’ theme park. 

According to Lotte, nearly half of the complex will be devoted to experience-based shops such as service, entertainment and food and beverage outlets. Describing the mall as a “Kidstainment Heaven,” the mall touts itself as a weekend outing destination for children. With a large-scale sports and entertainment facility called “I Love Sports” and a hobby store, the mall will also target the growing market of middle-aged men who bring their children to the complex.

“Eunpyeong-gu is the sixth-most populous district in Seoul, with over 500,000 residents, but it has lacked appropriate shopping facilities,” Lotte said in a statement.

On the other side of Seoul in Wolgye-dong, Nowon-gu, Shinsegae’s discount retailer E-mart is planning to expand its existing E-mart outlet to create an E-mart Town. Currently, the only E-mart Town is in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, an consists of an E-mart and specialized stores such as the warehouse-style retailer Traders, electronics store Electromart and lifestyle specialty store The Life.

Having opened last year, E-mart Town was considered an innovative spin on traditional discount retailers that had struggled to keep up sales as consumers increasingly turned to the easy access of e-commerce and Seoul’s ubiquitous convenience stores.

“We know that the Wolgye branch will take the form of an E-mart Town, but there have been no definite decisions about the stores that will be included,” said a spokeswoman for E-mart.

The expansion of E-mart’s Wolgye branch will nearly double its store space to 100,000 square meters, with the Emart Town set to open in 2018. E-mart is also planning to expand its existing Goyang branch.

By Won Ho-jung/The Korea Herald (hjwon@heraldorp.com)