[AK View] Where Do You Spend 1,000 Won These Days?

"Here is a 1,000-won bill and a pack of 150 wet wipes. Which would you choose? Or what if you were offered a bundle of 12 scrubbers or a container of 400 cotton swabs—what would you pick?"

This is a confident remark from Park Jungbu, founder and chairman of Asung Daiso, the most successful fixed-price lifestyle goods store in the retail industry today. In his autobiography, "Manage a Thousand Won," Chairman Park states that if a passerby on the street chooses a Daiso product without hesitation, the product plan is considered a success. However, if the passerby selects the 1,000-won bill, he concludes that the product lacks cost-effectiveness and returns to the drawing board to develop a new item.

According to industry sources, Asung Daiso, which is set to announce its April results, is expected to record mid-4 trillion won in sales last year, with an operating margin surpassing 10%. Entering double-digit operating margin territory stands out when compared to the performance of major retail giants such as Emart (1.54% in 2025) and Coupang (1.46% in 2024). This is seen as evidence that Daiso's profit structure has entered an advanced stage. There is even a lighthearted joke that the company should drop the "thin margin, high volume sales" label, as it can no longer be called a low-margin business.

Daiso is defying the "ontact" era. Every day, about 1 million customers visit its more than 1,600 stores nationwide. Millions of products are sold daily, and over 600 new products are launched every month. By expanding its lifestyle shop offerings—such as cosmetics and fashion targeting Millennials & Gen Z—the company has even inspired the new term "Dasegwon" (meaning areas with Daiso stores). Although the retail paradigm is shifting to online, Daiso is bucking the trend and proving new possibilities.

How does Daiso maintain a fixed price while delivering extremely high cost-effectiveness and winning over consumers? Experts point to Daiso's ability to design its cost structure as its main competitive edge. Most companies set the selling price by adding a reasonable profit margin to the cost, but Daiso does the opposite. It first determines a consumer-satisfying price—such as 1,000 won or 2,000 won—and then develops the best possible product for that price point.

In his autobiography, Chairman Park emphasized that he focused not on selling products cheaply, but on the process of making them cheaply. A prime example of his philosophy is, "If a cup doesn't need a handle, leave it out; if there are patterns on both sides, keep only one." By boldly eliminating unnecessary elements and simplifying the structure of products, Daiso fundamentally reduces costs through "process optimization"—the essence of its pricing policy. It's a counterintuitive approach, akin to "putting an elephant in a refrigerator."

This approach is rooted in Chairman Park's "1,000-won management" philosophy from the company's early days. He said, "Selling something for 1,000 won means building 100 billion won worth of trust." In 1997, Park opened Korea's first "1,000-won shop" under the name Asco Even Plaza. At the time, the base taxi fare was 1,000 won and a city bus ride cost 400 won. Today, the base taxi fare is 4,800 won, and you can't even take the bus for 1,000 won. Yet, for over 30 years, Daiso has maintained 1,000-won pricing on more than half of its total 15,000 products. Through this steadfast commitment to the "value of 1,000 won," Daiso has provided consumers with a shopping experience free from financial burden and built fundamental trust.

In its early days, Daiso's margins were only 1–2%. Selling a 1,000-won product earned just 10 won in profit. Over time, those 10-won increments accumulated into 100 won, then 1,000 won, and have grown the company into one with nearly 5 trillion won in sales. The results have been achieved by stacking up each and every 1,000-won note. Those who value small things also value big things. Small habits, like atoms, and diligence can change your life. There is nothing in the world that can beat consistency.

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