Shinsegae Breaks '1st Floor = Beauty & Luxury' Rule... Yeongdeungpo Lifestyle-Oriented Department Store Emerges

Reflecting Customer Big Data Analysis Results... Increased Parking Convenience
Early Morning Auction Seafood, Eco-friendly Meat, Premium Fruits
1,000-Pyeong 'Gourmet Street' on Basement Level 1

Shinsegae Yeongdeungpo Store Exterior View

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Shinsegae Department Store Yeongdeungpo Branch, which made a bold attempt to transform the entire building into a lifestyle specialty hall, continues its innovation by unveiling a food hall on the first floor for the first time in the industry.

Yeongdeungpo Branch, currently undergoing a full renewal after 10 years since its opening, announced on the 12th that it opened a 1,400-pyeong (approx. 4,620 sq. meters) food specialty hall on the 10th of this month, consisting of two floors: the first floor of the Living Hall and the basement first floor of the Living and Fashion Halls. Following last October’s transformation of the entire building into a lifestyle specialty hall that attracted attention, Yeongdeungpo Branch has now boldly configured the first floor of the department store as a food market (supermarket).

Introducing a food hall on the first floor, which determines the first impression of a department store, is also rare overseas. The reason Shinsegae chose such a bold strategy is due to the characteristics of Yeongdeungpo Branch’s Living Hall as a lifestyle specialty hall. According to an analysis of Yeongdeungpo Branch customer data, in 2018, the sales linkage rate between the lifestyle genre and fresh food genre reached 56%. This means that 6 out of 10 customers who purchased lifestyle products also bought fresh food.

Shinsegae Yeongdeungpo Store 1st Floor Food Market Exterior View

In particular, fresh food has a high sales affinity with kitchenware. The lifestyle specialty hall opened last October placed a kitchenware curated shop on the second floor, directly above the first-floor food market, gathering various kitchen utensils to create a synergy effect. Also, with the food market opening on the first floor, customers can now go directly to the adjacent ground parking building and parking tower after shopping in the food hall, shortening the carrying distance of shopping baskets.

The newly opened first-floor food market in the Living Hall covers fruits, vegetables, seafood, meat, grocery, bakery, and caf? all together. Especially on the first floor, the face of the department store, special attention was paid to creating a rich display so that customers feel visually delighted and a bright atmosphere upon entering. Instead of displaying packed products typical of existing food stores, they use so-called ‘bulk display’ by stacking colorful fruits and vegetables as they are. This creates a dynamic atmosphere similar to famous overseas markets like the U.S. Whole Foods Market.

Shinsegae Yeongdeungpo Store 1st Floor Food Market Seafood Corner

At the seafood corner, they prepare and sell sashimi and sushi using Jeju’s representative seafood, and sell the freshest seafood directly sent by middlemen who finish early morning auctions at Jeju, Busan, Daecheon, and Jumunjin ports. At the meat corner, the proportion of eco-friendly livestock products such as designated ranch Korean beef and antibiotic-free pork has been increased, and for the first time, a premium fruit corner was established that makes sliced fruit, fruit juice, and fruit ice cream using fruits delivered the same day.

At the grain corner, experts recommend rice tailored to customers’ tastes like sommeliers, and the newly established ready-to-eat meal corner sells frozen convenience foods optimized for air fryers and famous products featured on TV programs. The space is filled with lifestyle corners including ‘Gentz Bakery,’ one of Busan’s top three bakeries, a domestic and imported car curated shop, a handmade cheese shop, and a retro concept bathroom goods section.

Shinsegae Yeongdeungpo Store B1 Floor Food Hall Bakery

Moving down to the basement first floor, a 1,100-pyeong gourmet street called ‘Gourmet Street’ unfolds. The Food Plaza gathers popular yet verified restaurants in one place, such as ‘Ojangdong Hamheung Naengmyeon,’ selected in the 2019 Michelin Guide, ‘Jerajin,’ a premium pork cutlet made with Jeju black pork, and ‘Mat-i China’ presented by Chef Cho Seung-hee, formerly of a famous hotel.

Desserts are also gaining popularity. Many differentiated brands from famous bakeries nationwide have entered, including ‘Somac Bakery,’ a representative bakery in Gwangju famous for bean cream bread, ‘Bistecca,’ a tiramisu specialty store in Gyeongridan-gil, and ‘Yukjjok Garlic Bread,’ a specialty of Gangneung Central Market. There are also ‘Happy Dumplings,’ which knead and steam ingredients directly in-store, and ‘Jinyeon Tteokbang,’ offering freshly made rice cakes and traditional sweets. Some deli brands, health foods, and wine shops will prepare from the 27th and open additionally in March.

Park Soon-min, Executive Director of Shinsegae Department Store Yeongdeungpo Branch, said, “Through this renewal, Yeongdeungpo Branch is differentiating itself from the industry with a store composition that breaks the existing mold and providing customers with unprecedented freshness. We will continue to develop a well-structured composition and products in the ongoing renewal to become a landmark shopping center in the southwestern commercial district.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.