"Our Neighborhood Social Club"... New Concept Emart 'Starfield Market' Opens

Emart Jukjeon Branch Renewal Opening
Expansion of Leased Stores like Olive Young, Popular Restaurants, and Experience Spaces
Evolved Form of Mall-Type Store 'The Town Mall'

Emart is unveiling a future-oriented mart infused with the 'DNA of Starfield,' a complex shopping mall. After five months of renovation, Emart Jukjeon Branch has been transformed from a space solely for grocery shopping into a place where customers can simultaneously experience rest and leisure.

According to the distribution industry on the 29th, Emart has reopened the Emart Jukjeon Branch, which has a store area of 6,000 pyeong (19,800㎡), as 'Starfield Market Jukjeon.' Starfield Market is a new type of mart introduced by Emart, characterized by applying the concept of the complex shopping mall Starfield to Emart. The goal is to offer local customers a shopping experience that feels like a break, under the concept of 'One hour of leisure every day, our neighborhood social club.'

The reason Emart Jukjeon Branch, located next to Jukjeon Station, was selected as the first Starfield Market is because it is situated at the center of southeastern Gyeonggi Province, making it highly competitive in terms of location. The existing Jukjeon Branch is a popular area, ranking among the top in sales among Emart's 131 stores nationwide. Around Starfield Market Jukjeon, there are no large supermarkets except for Homeplus Bundang Ori Branch, which is a 30-minute walk away. Additionally, the area has many families in their 30s and 40s with school-age children, aligning well with the Starfield Market concept that aims to be a community and experiential shopping mall for local residents.

It was also considered that the existing commercial facilities were aging, and there was high demand from residents for shopping and leisure spaces. Starfield Market Jukjeon improved customer convenience by connecting its basement level 1 with the Shinsegae Department Store South City Branch located across the street. Seo Hyukjin, manager of Starfield Market Jukjeon, said, "We will develop the store into a place that offers customers leisure and experiences," adding, "Jukjeon Branch has excellent accessibility, classified as a multipurpose weekend metropolitan commercial area, so expectations are high."

Starfield Market is an evolved form of the mall-type store 'The Town Mall' previously introduced by Emart. The Town Mall's feature is that it increased tenant stores (rental shops) by four times, allowing customers to experience food, entertainment, and living content even within the mart. Trendy eateries and experiential content were added to increase the time and frequency customers spend in the mart. Emart stores renovated into The Town Mall include Wolgye Branch in 2020, Yeonsu Branch in March 2023, and KINTEX Branch in July 2023.

The core of Starfield Market, which is a step beyond The Town Mall, is the tenant stores and specialized spaces spanning two floors (3,700 pyeong) on the first and second floors. The first-floor space, which customers encounter first, is designed as a cultural and rest area accessible to everyone instead of a sales facility. It allows visitors to comfortably relax and enjoy various cultural activities.

In the center of the store, 'Book Ground,' reminiscent of the 'Starfield Library' seen in existing Starfield malls, was introduced, and an 'Event Stage' was created where performances for children can be held every Thursday and Saturday. The second floor is composed of 'Kids Ground' for children. This allows customers in their 30s and 40s shopping with their children to naturally rest and play with their kids. Trendy eateries were also included, such as the cafe 'Noted,' the popular Western-style restaurant 'Yoshoku' from Seongsu-dong, and the shabu-shabu specialty restaurant 'Seonjae,' all of which are entering Emart stores for the first time.

The 'Bookground' located in the customer-specialized space on the first floor of the Jukjeon branch.
[Photo by Minji Lee]

The large mart, which was previously located on basement level 1 and the first floor, has been consolidated into basement level 1 (3,800 pyeong). It has been strengthened as a grocery-centered store, adding over 140 varieties of fresh food and deli items. The store layout was also optimized. In the center of the fresh food section, a 'Wholesale Zone' was created to place large-volume, ultra-low-priced products, and 'Super Price Zones' composed of popular products were set up throughout category-specific shelves to enable reasonable shopping. The meat section offers a variety of products ranging from premium items to cost-effective bulk meat.

Based on the success of Starfield Market Jukjeon, Emart plans to renovate its large stores into Starfield Markets. Han Chaeyoung, CEO of Emart, emphasized, "To strengthen the competitiveness of marts in the increasingly fierce distribution market, it is essential to create attractive spaces that can occupy customers' time," adding, "Starfield Market is an optimal shopping space that combines Emart's grocery enhancement strategy with Starfield's tenant operation know-how, and it is a new concept space that provides local residents with simultaneous experiences of leisure and shopping."

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