April 27, 2024

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(Emart24)

Emart24, a South Korean convenience store chain, said Thursday all three of its outlets in Singapore have been temporarily suspended for preparations to better serve customers in the Asian country.

A statement released by Emart24 Singapore Pte. Ltd., Emart24's master franchisor partner firm, said the decision is because the company is working on something new.

"We have been making significant management decisions to reshuffle the outlets to better serve customers with some new and exciting offerings and concepts," the statement said without elaborating.

The master franchisor said it hopes to see customers "really soon so keep a lookout" for where it might pop up.

Emart24 said it wants to see operations of the Singapore outlets resume as soon as possible.

Emart24 entered the Singapore market with two outlets in December 2022 under the master franchise deal with a local firm and later opened the third in July last year.

Under a master franchise deal, the master franchisor allows the master franchisee not only to open franchise units itself in a specified area but also to sub-franchise them to third parties.

On top of the three Singapore outlets, Emart24 has 52 outlets in Malaysia and one scheduled to open in Cambodia in June, which also involve master franchise deals with local firms.

Emart24 has said it will continue to strengthen its overseas presence, initially in Asian markets.

Emart24 is an affiliate of Shinsegae Group, which operates department stores, large discount store chains and other retail businesses. (Yonhap)