April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] E-mart, the nation’s No. 1 discount supermarket chain owned by Shinsegae Group, said on Sept. 25 it is opening its second store in Mongolia this week as part of efforts to expand its presence in Asia amid growing uncertainties in China.

The firm is renting 1,540 square-meter space at Solo Mall in west of Ulaanbaatar in partnership with local retail giant Altai Group. Its first Mongolia store, also a collaboration with Altai, has seen stunning growth, with more than double the original sales target, since its opening in July last year. 

The new Mongolian outlet comes after E-mart sold off five of its six remaining stores in China to Thailand’s retail giant Charoen Pokphand Group for its possible exit from the market where its financial losses over the past four years have exceeded 150 billion won (US$132.63 million). 

The company also plans to further expand its business by opening more supermarket stores in other Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam. Its first store in Vietnam reported 41.9 billion won in sales last year.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)