"Futsal Courts, Swimming Pools, New Car Showrooms in Large Marts" Homeplus Experiments with 'Experience'

Introducing a 500㎡ (approx. 150 pyeong) Children's Swimming Pool at Incheon Nonhyeon Branch
Creating an Experiential Space to Attract Young Customers to the Mart

A view of the children's swimming pool 'Angel Crew Kids Swimming' recently opened at Homeplus Incheon Nonhyeon branch. Homeplus is attracting young customers by continuously introducing various experiential tenants within its offline store malls.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Homeplus announced on the 12th that it is making investments in shopping malls within offline stores that had long been vacant due to the closure of existing tenant brands amid the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing large experiential tenants.

Uncommon in large supermarkets, a children's swimming pool has been installed, and a showroom displaying new cars that attract the interest of younger generations has been opened, transforming tenants within the large supermarket malls into "spaces that share lifestyles." Homeplus stated, "We are transforming large supermarket stores into spaces where customers can share and experience their lifestyles to encourage visits to offline stores."

The rooftop space, which had been neglected, has been developed into an international standard futsal field called 'HM Futsal Park' with eco-friendly artificial turf for children to run and play. In the parking lot, a large-scale electric vehicle charging station and an unmanned used car appraisal service have been established. In the store's small spaces, a personal storage service called 'The Storage' has been set up to store customers' belongings.

On the 20th of last month, the Homeplus Incheon Nonhyeon branch in Namdong-gu, Incheon, opened 'Angel Crew Kids Swimming,' the first children's swimming pool inside a Homeplus store, located on the second basement floor. This facility was created after eight months of construction in the space where a large restaurant had closed in September 2020 due to COVID-19. The size is 500㎡ (approximately 150 pyeong).

The store explained, "Homeplus Incheon Nonhyeon branch, located in a large residential area between Incheon Namdong Industrial Complex and Soraepogu, has increasing demand for kids' swimming facilities, but there is a shortage of related facilities, leaving many customers waiting. Accordingly, 'Angel Crew Kids Swimming' opened at Homeplus Incheon Nonhyeon is designed so that all facilities can be used by children, operating at a water depth of 0.75 to 1.0 meters (general swimming pools are 1.3 to 2 meters), and uses an eco-friendly seawater system that filters and disinfects 7 to 8 times a day."

At 'Angel Crew Kids Swimming,' programs for children such as small group swimming lessons (4:1 ratio), kids survival classes, and weekend kids water parks are offered, along with various adult programs including aqua Pilates, aqua float fit, skin scuba diving, and night small group adult lessons. Marketing is also conducted in connection with cultural centers to actively attract new customers.

At Homeplus Masan branch in Changwon, Gyeongnam, 'Monster Park,' a kids cafe, newly opened on the 1st after being vacant for a year since November 2020 due to COVID-19. Located on the 5th floor of Homeplus Masan branch with an area of 660㎡ (approximately 200 pyeong), 'Monster Park' features differentiated playground equipment such as air bounces and operates as a family-type kids cafe with unlimited usage time. It naturally encourages customers with young children to visit offline stores, aiming to increase the number of visitors and attract new customers.

Additionally, since September last year, Homeplus has been operating 'Hyundai Motor Casper Showrooms' at four stores: Bucheon Sangdong branch (Bucheon, Gyeonggi), Ganseok branch (Namdong-gu, Incheon), Gimhae branch (Gyeongnam Gimhae), and Jeonju Hyoja branch (Jeonbuk Jeonju). From last month, it also opened one at the Busan Asiad branch.

Following the Uijeongbu branch on the 7th of last month, on the 12th of this month, Homeplus Bucheon Sangdong branch introduced a large-scale electric vehicle charging station capable of charging up to 10 vehicles simultaneously, in collaboration with Daeyoung Chaebi, a manufacturer and operator of electric vehicle chargers.

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