Shinsegae Department Store Yeongdeungpo Branch Renamed to 'Times Square Branch' After 36 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Shinsegae Department Store Yeongdeungpo Branch is being reborn as 'Shinsegae Department Store Times Square Branch.'

Shinsegae Department Store announced on the 24th, "Yeongdeungpo Branch, which successfully completed a full renovation after 10 years, will change its store name, used since 1984, for the first time in 36 years to take a second leap forward."

Shinsegae Department Store judged that to establish itself as a landmark department store in the southwestern Seoul metropolitan area beyond the western Seoul commercial district, it is better to adopt the name Times Square, a shopping mall representing the southwestern Seoul area, rather than a name including a specific region.

According to data analyzing customers visiting the Times Square Branch by commercial district from 2009 to last year, the sales proportion of secondary commercial districts such as Mapo, Bucheon, and Goyang increased significantly compared to the primary commercial districts like Yeongdeungpo and Dongjak nearby.

The sales proportion of the secondary commercial district (Gwanak, Mapo, Geumcheon-gu, etc.) increased threefold over 10 years from 4% in 2009 to 12% in 2019, and the tertiary commercial district centered on Gyeonggi-do (Goyang, Gwangmyeong, Bucheon, Incheon, Gimpo, etc.) also rose to 21% last year, about twice as high as 10 years ago.

The increase in customers from the secondary and tertiary commercial districts means that more customers are visiting the Times Square Branch with the purpose of visiting it. Shinsegae Department Store explained that the competitiveness of the Times Square Branch has increased over the past 10 years, rapidly expanding the commercial district's scope.

Accordingly, after much deliberation, Shinsegae Department Store decided to rename the existing Yeongdeungpo Branch to 'Shinsegae Times Square Branch,' considering its adjacency to the existing branch and its connection to the southwestern commercial district's representative shopping mall, Times Square.

In fact, Shinsegae Department Store Times Square Branch actively synergizes with the complex shopping mall 'Times Square.' Before Times Square opened in 2008, the sales proportion of customers in their 30s at Yeongdeungpo Branch was about 25%, but last year it increased by 10 percentage points to 35%. The 40s age group, the largest customer base for premium products, also increased from 20% to 26%.

Shinsegae Department Store Times Square Branch has been undergoing a phased full renovation for 11 months from August last year to this month. Starting with the Living Hall (lifestyle specialty hall) in October last year, it successively unveiled the Food Specialty Hall, Young Fashion Specialty Hall, and Overseas Fashion Specialty Hall this year.

First, the Living Hall attracted industry attention as a bold attempt to fill an entire building with lifestyle genres. It covers five floors from the 2nd to the 6th floor, with a total sales area of about 4,958㎡ (1,500 pyeong), and the number of brands increased by 40% to about 90, the largest in the commercial district.

The Food Specialty Hall, located on the first floor, the face of the department store, is evaluated as a bold innovation, encompassing fruits, vegetables, seafood, meat, groceries, as well as bakeries and cafes that did not exist before. Also, for young customers, the Young Fashion Specialty Hall was created as 'one big curated shop' gathering 33 different brands.

Additionally, a food court featuring popular restaurants and famous brands not previously seen in the Yeongdeungpo commercial district was introduced, along with an Overseas Fashion Specialty Hall covering 2,182㎡ (660 pyeong), featuring famous brands such as Jimmy Choo, Alexander Wang, and Vivienne Westwood.

Park Soonmin, Managing Director of Shinsegae Department Store Times Square Branch, said, "As the commercial district expands and the number of customers with purchasing power increases, we will rise as a southwestern landmark through differentiated store composition."

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