Hermes and Smart Convenience Stores Will Initially Head to Pangyo

Hyundai Department Store Pangyo Branch Adds Hermes
Van Cleef & Arpels to Open Soon
BGF Retail's Smart Convenience Store Selected as Test Site
High Purchasing Power and Suitability for New Technology Testing Due to Many 'Young and Rich' Customers

Hyundai Department Store Pangyo Branch Hermes Store. (Photo by Hermes)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] The distribution industry is once again paying attention to the Pangyo commercial district, which had temporarily slowed down due to the IT industry's downturn. This is because the area has a high income level and strong purchasing power, and many IT industry workers, making it an ideal testbed for businesses combining new technologies.

According to the industry on the 12th, the overseas luxury brand Van Cleef & Arpels is set to open a store on the first floor of Hyundai Department Store Pangyo. Hyundai Department Store Pangyo already houses Cartier, Tiffany, and Bulgari, and with the addition of Van Cleef & Arpels, it will secure all four major luxury jewelry brands.

Earlier, Hermes also opened a store last month at Hyundai Department Store Pangyo, marking the first store in the Gyeonggi area. This is the largest store in a department store and the second largest nationwide. An industry insider explained, "Hermes does not enter stores that do not generate a certain level of sales. It is equivalent to guaranteeing the store's success."

Following Hermes, BGF Retail also came to Pangyo. On the 28th of last month, BGF Retail opened a testbed at the Pangyo 2nd Techno Valley Enterprise Support Hub to demonstrate Korean-style safe smart store application technology. They decided to test a smart convenience store in Pangyo where all processes from entry to purchase and payment are automated.

The fundamental reason the distribution industry is drawn to Pangyo is its high purchasing power, mainly created by high-salary earners such as developers. Although IT companies recently seemed to be entering a recession by reducing labor costs, the distribution industry still views Pangyo as the most influential area in the metropolitan region.

In fact, major sales at department stores and convenience stores around Pangyo came from high-priced categories. The proportion of male customers for luxury, watch, and jewelry brands at Hyundai Department Store Pangyo in the first half of this year was 5 percentage points higher than the average of 16 stores nationwide. This is the highest level, surpassing flagship stores such as Seoul Apgujeong Main Store and Trade Center Store.

AK Plaza Bundang Store also has a higher sales proportion of imported luxury clothing brands compared to other stores. From March to September this year, the sales growth rate of imported luxury clothing increased by 24% compared to last year. In the food section, the average spending per customer is about 2.6 times higher than that of food sections in stores nationwide, focusing on attracting premium foods such as high-quality fresh fish and fruits.

In the case of BGF Retail, the sales growth rate of relatively high-priced health functional foods in convenience stores during October was 202% higher than that of stores nationwide.

An industry insider said, "Pangyo is led by the so-called 'young and rich' 2030 generation who are young and have high purchasing power," adding, "With the conditions to test new technologies such as Techno Valley, it remains an attractive commercial district for the distribution industry aiming to expand new businesses."

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