Homeplus Accelerates Store Sales... Ansan Branch Followed by Confirmed Sale of Daejeon Tanbang Branch

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] Homeplus, struggling with poor performance due to the offline retail industry's recession and the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is accelerating the sale of its stores.

Homeplus announced on the 25th that the asset securitization of the Daejeon Tanbang branch has been confirmed. This is the second asset securitization following the announcement of the Ansan branch's asset securitization on the 17th.

Last month, Homeplus revealed plans to carry out asset securitization on some stores to ensure stable business operations and secure liquidity for the future amid an uncertain business environment caused by the offline retail industry's recession and the impact of COVID-19, which led to a sharp decline in sales.

With this asset securitization of the Daejeon Tanbang branch, Homeplus intends to maintain operations for at least six months to ensure that nearby customers do not experience inconvenience while shopping and that store employees and mall tenants can adapt stably to the changes.

Similar to the Ansan branch, whose sale was previously confirmed, employees working at the Daejeon Tanbang branch will retain their employment even after the store closes. Homeplus plans to consider transferring these employees to nearby stores, as well as moving them to recently growing business sectors such as online operations and Homeplus Express (SSM).

The company stated that no workforce restructuring is being considered and that sufficient time will be given to conduct transfer interviews and other procedures. They will minimize employee inconvenience by considering the status of the workplaces where transfers will occur and employees' commuting distances. Additionally, the company pledged to do its best to reflect the positions of mall tenants within the stores.

Following the Ansan and Daejeon Tanbang branches, Homeplus is reportedly pursuing additional store sales due to asset securitization, including the Daegu branch. In response, the labor union has protested, saying, "Homeplus is going bankrupt and selling off even prime stores all because of MBK," and added, "No matter how much we earn to repay MBK's debt, it's like pouring water into a bottomless pit. Although real estate worth 2.2 trillion won was sold, we are still receiving minimum wage because of MBK's debt repayment."

Homeplus recorded a net loss of 532.2 billion won for the fiscal year 2019 (March 2019 to February 2020). Sales and operating profit were 7.3002 trillion won and 160.2 billion won, respectively, down 4.9% and 38.3% compared to the previous year.

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