Shinsegae Group announced on the 26th that it will be promoting the membership of KBO Korea’s professional baseball team by acquiring Incheon SK Wyverns professional baseball team.
Shinsegae Group and SK Telecom agreed to acquire SK Wyverns baseball team by Shinsegae Group and signed a related MOU. E-Mart will acquire a 100% stake in SK Wyverns, owned by SKT, and will maintain its connection to Incheon.
In addition, the coaching staff, the athletes and the front desk are also 100% employed, continuing the heritage of Incheon baseball that SK Wyverns has built up.
Shinsegae Group has been trying to acquire a professional baseball team since several years ago to integrate online and offline and expand the online market. In particular, the company announced that SK Wyverns had been promoted to acquire SK Wyverns as it was judged that there would be great synergy between existing customers and baseball fans due to the large intersection and sharing experience.
Shinsegae Group believes that a variety of’expanding customer experiences’ will be possible if professional baseball combines fans and Shinsegae Group’s customers, which are expanding in the era of 8 million spectators.
Professional baseball is a sports field where online and offline integration is the best, as fans who enjoy baseball are familiar with online environments such as mobile and play games and community activities based on passion.
It was noted that this thick baseball fan base coincided with the leading customer base in the online market.
Recently, Shinsegae Group is working with E-Mart and SSG.com to prepare for the future by integrating on and off. It is expected that a synergy between baseball fans and customers will be possible as communication and experiences are shared without boundaries.
Shinsegae Group will provide new experiences and services to customers who visit the baseball field, contributing to the qualitative and quantitative development of professional baseball from’watching baseball’ to’playing baseball’, while concentrating its capabilities to become a’shinsegae fan’ outside the baseball field. Plan.
With the signing of the MOU, the movement related to the acquisition of the baseball team is expected to accelerate. The two companies plan to speed up consultations with the Korea Baseball Commission (KBO) and Incheon Metropolitan City.
In addition, as soon as possible, working-level discussions related to the launch of the club will be finalized, and the preparation for the opening of the 2021 KBO regular season, which will open in April, will be accelerated.
Shinsegae Group has already formed a working team to prepare for the foundation, and will continue to prepare for the start of the season.
In addition, the club’s naming, emblem, and character will be confirmed soon and officially launched in March.
◇ Reinforce baseball fan service and contribute to baseball development through infrastructure investment
SK Wyverns, founded in 2000, has entered the Korean Series eight times in 21 years, including the conquest of the Korean Series four times, and produced top-notch star players in Korea, including Kim Won-hyung, Park Kyung-wan, and Choi Jeong, including Kim Gwang-hyun, who entered the major leagues in 2020. It has grown into a prestigious club.
Shinsegae Group plans to grow into a club loved by fans by actively investing for the growth of Incheon Baseball and even Korean professional baseball beyond inheriting the history of the prestigious SK Wyverns.
To this end, various growth visions were prepared, and investments were made consistently in line with the roadmap.
First, the baseball field will be evolved into a’lifestyle center’ that combines the customer experience and know-how of Shinsegae Group for the enjoyment of professional baseball fans watching baseball.
Through this, it is expected that fans who visit the baseball field can enjoy not only baseball but also various services offered by Shinsegae Group in one place, further enhancing the fun of watching baseball.
In addition, in order to create an era of 10 million professional baseball spectators with baseball fans, the company plans to actively expand infrastructure by collecting opinions from fans, local communities and related organizations and promoting the construction of multipurpose facilities including the dome in the long term.
In addition to this, the company plans to find and nurture good athletes through expansion of training facilities, and to provide support and investment in improving facilities to help improve the skills of the athletes.
On the other hand, Shinsegae Group is also considering providing opportunities for more people to interact with professional baseball outside the baseball field by developing and introducing related products and services in various categories, such as food, household goods, and companion animal products, by making full use of their product development capabilities. In progress.
◇SKT “We will take on a new challenge for the development of balanced sports in Korea”
In the future, SKT announced that it will contribute to’Korea’s sports development/support’ by expanding the base of amateur sports and strengthening the global competitiveness of Korean sports.
SKT plans to contribute to enhancing the international status of sports in Korea through long-term sponsorship for amateur sports, expanding the sports base by utilizing the experience that has achieved good results in many international competitions, and enhancing global competitiveness.
To this end, SKT is planning to establish a balanced development of various sports and global fostering and support of domestic sports by launching the’Korea Sports Promotion TF’, while also considering discovering and investing in future sports combined with advanced ICT such as AR/VR. .
SKT expressed its sincere thanks to the fans who have loved SK Wyverns so far, and said that it expects Shinsegae Group to further develop Incheon baseball and Korean professional baseball with strong passion and vision.
SKT added that it will continue to sponsor Korean sports with a bigger dream of balanced development of Korean sports and strengthening global competitiveness.