Emart Enters 20 Trillion KRW Annual Sales Era... Breaks COVID-19 Barrier to Set All-Time Record

Effect of Proactive Restructuring

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Despite the adverse effects of COVID-19, Emart set a new record in the domestic retail industry by surpassing 20 trillion KRW in annual sales. For Chung Yong-jin, Vice Chairman of Shinsegae Group, who faced the painful reality of the company’s first-ever deficit in the second and fourth quarters of 2019, this achievement has solidified the owner-management system through bold decisions and resilience amid unpredictable crises.

Emart announced on the 9th that its consolidated sales for last year reached 21.3949 trillion KRW, a 17.8% increase from 18.1679 trillion KRW in 2019. Operating profit rose by 57.4% to 237.1 billion KRW, and net profit increased by 62.0% to 362.5 billion KRW compared to the previous year.

Emart attributed the surge in performance to the turnaround in sales growth at existing large discount stores, which shifted from a 3.4% decline in 2019 to a 1.4% increase last year. This positive growth rate in large discount stores is the first in four years since 2016. The warehouse-type store Traders also contributed to the improved results with its sales growth rate slightly expanding from 22.4% in 2019 to 23.9% last year.

The retail industry evaluates that Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin’s proactive restructuring after the 2019 deficit paid off during the COVID-19 pandemic. Underperforming specialty stores such as ‘Pierrot Shopping’ and ‘Boots’ were closed, while high-traffic specialty stores like ‘Electromart’ and ‘No Brand’ were expanded. Additionally, preemptive efforts in renewing existing stores, maintenance, and system improvements turned the crisis into an opportunity.

An Emart official explained, "Despite uncertain external conditions such as COVID-19, sales and operating profits increased based on the balanced growth of Emart, SSG.com, Shinsegae TV Shopping, and other consolidated subsidiaries, all of which strengthened customer-centric management."

Meanwhile, Shinsegae, which announced its results a day before Emart, reported sales of 4.766 trillion KRW and operating profit of 88.4 billion KRW last year. Sales dropped by 25.5% year-on-year, and operating profit plunged by 81.1%. The duty-free business, which accounted for half of total sales, faced the worst conditions, and offline department store sales also sharply declined.

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