April 19, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Shinsegae Department Store is moving its headquarters to Banpo-dong, southern Seoul, in the second half of this year, it announced on Jan. 16.

More than 500 staff, except a few in public relations, will relocate from the main branch in Myeong-dong, where the retail giant has been based since the group’s establishment in 1991, and a nearby Mesa building. 

This further consolidates the grip of Chung Yoo-kyung, who has been promoted as president of department stores since December 2015, industry sources say. 

Chung has been expanding her area of department stores, duty-free stores and fashion and beauty business at a brisk pace: expanding Gangnam branch in Seoul and Centum City branch in Busan; opening a duty-free store at the main branch and two new department stores in Gimhae and Hanam; and earning the license to operate a second downtown duty-free store, all in 2016.

It also hails the implementation of Shinsegae’s pledge that it will turn the Mesa building, combined with its Myeong-dong branch, into a “hallyu town” including a space devoted to traditional culture and a design innovation center when it pitched for the first duty-free store license in 2015. 

Another reason for the move is the growing importance of the neighborhood. Shinsegae operates its Gangnam branch and JW Marriott Hotel, and plans to develop the Express Bus Terminal, which it acquired in 2013, into a shopping complex. The newly approved duty-free store will also open in Central City. 

The revenue from Gangnam branch, after a successful expansion in October 2016, has surged to match that of Lotte Department Store’s main branch, the largest in the country. 

By Hwang You-mee (glamazon@heraldcorp.com)