“Lotte·Shinsegae, Resolved”…Jee Ji-seon opens’The Hyundai Seoul’ in Yeouido

Input 2021.01.20 14:16

Lotte·Shinsegae·Hyundai collides with landmark department stores in’Finance·Political Center’
Chairman Jeong Ji-sun of Hyundai Dept. “Development as the representative store of The Hyundai Seoul
The size of 13 soccer fields…the largest among department stores in Seoul

Hyundai Department Store (069960)On the 26th of the following month, it has been confirmed to name the department store’THE HYUNDAI SEOUL’ that will open in Park One in Yeouido, Seoul. The Hyundai Department Store Group’s 16th department store, The Hyundai Seoul, is the largest among department stores in downtown Seoul with the size of 13 soccer fields (89,100㎡).

The opening of The Hyundai Seoul is expected to intensify competition in the Gangseo commercial district of Yeongdeungpo, one of Seoul’s three core commercial districts. The Lotte Yeongdeungpo branch has been operated by Lotte for 32 years as a real commercial district with 400 billion won in sales. Shinsegae also changed its signboard to Times Square and operated aggressively.

According to the distribution industry on the 20th, Hyundai Department Store registered The Hyundai Seoul on Kakao Map and Naver Map and is in full swing in preparation for the final opening. The Hyundai Seoul stands for a department store that emphasizes culture and art. With the theme of’a space that provides a new shopping experience’, a complex cultural space was created that combines large voids (open spaces in buildings) and natural elements.

From the 25th of next month with the opening, the museum (ALT.1) on the 6th floor of the department store will hold a large-scale retrospective exhibition’Andy Warhol: Beginning Seoul’ by pop art master Andy Warhol. It is the largest of Andy Warhol’s exhibitions in Korea, and 153 masterpieces such as the portrait of Marylin Monroe, flowers, and Campbell’s soup will be introduced.

◇’The Hyundai Seoul’ entering an art museum and an unmanned store
Hyundai Department Store’s naming strategy seems to be an extension of’Hyundai Premium Outlet Space1 (SPACE1)’, which opened in Dasan New Town in Namyangju, Gyeonggi-do last October. Unlike retailers’ custom of adding a local name to the store name, this store was named Space One. An official at Hyundai Department Store said, “We did not use the local name in the store name to suggest a new experience to customers.”

Like Space One, The Hyundai Seoul plans to devote more than 40% of its total area to culture and art spaces. The designation of’Seoul’ in the store name reflects the group’s will to make it a department store representing Seoul. Jeong Ji-sun, chairman of Hyundai Department Store Group, ordered, “Develop Yeouido as a’flagship store (representative store)’ that will upgrade the status of Hyundai Department Store Group to the next level.”

In addition to the complex cultural space, an unmanned store with the technology of Amazon Web Services (AWS) will be created. In addition, luxury brands such as Moncler, Balenciaga, Valentino, Montblanc, Jaeger-Coultre, and Boucheron are entering the store, and’Three Luxury Masters’ such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, and Hermes are also negotiating to enter the store.

◇Lotte·Shinsegae·Hyundai…Clash over landmarks in southwestern Seoul
When The Hyundai Seoul opens a store, it is expected that the competition of the three department stores surrounding Seoul’s southwest commercial area will begin in earnest. At Yeongdeungpo Station, which is about 7 minutes by car from The Hyundai Seoul, Lotte Department Store and Shinsegae Department Store are facing the street.

The Yeongdeungpo commercial district is a transportation hub with an average of 150,000 people a day and a center of finance and politics. In addition, since the first commercial districts such as Gangseo, Mapo, and Yongsan, as well as the second and third commercial districts of Gyeonggi and Incheon, are becoming wide-area, great growth is expected in the future.

According to an analysis of customers who visited the Yeongdeungpo branch (current Times Square branch) from 2009 to 2019 by Shinsegae, the number of customers in the first commercial district increased from 37% to 41%, but the number of customers in the second and third commercial districts from 15% to 33%. It increased by 18 percentage points.

Lotte has been operating a department store since 1991 through a contract to occupy Yeongdeungpo Station for 30 years from 1987. In 2019, he beat Shinsegae and won a 10-year contract and succeeded in Mercury. It is connected to Yeongdeungpo Station on Line 1 and covers an operating area of ​​about 40,000 square meters. Due to its large floating population, it is a store with annual sales of around 400 billion won. Among the department stores nationwide, only about 20 have sales of over 400 billion won.

Shinsegae changed the signboard of Yeongdeungpo store into Times Square store and decorated the entire B building as a living hall, increasing the area of ​​the living store by 70%. As a result, sales increased by 15% within 100 days of renewal opening. The Lotte Yeongdeungpo store has been transformed into a’Hiphwa Store (Hiphan Department Store)’ targeting MZ generation (millennials + generation Z, born 1980-2004).

A department store official said, “The Yeongdeungpo commercial district has been regarded as a difficult place to do business because the office commercial district is the center, but the commercial district is growing as new apartment residents such as Gyeonggi and Incheon come to this place.” There will be as much synergy as possible,” he said.