On the afternoon of the 10th, when the’Social Distancing Step 2.5′ is in effect, a large shopping mall in Seoul is showing a relatively busy appearance. yunhap news
“Compulsory holiday? If you want to help the traditional market like that, you pay the salary of the National Assembly member with an Onnuri gift certificate and ask them to shop directly at the market. I have a ventilator and I am barely breathing, but the government is trying to take it off at all.”
Self-employed people afflicted with the promotion of mandatory holidays in shopping malls
Mr. Kim, 46, runs a tteokbokki restaurant at Lotte World Mall in Jamsil, Seoul. He poured out resentment at the news that next month the extraordinary National Assembly is pushing ahead with the amendment to the Distribution Industry Development Act, which introduces mandatory closures for shopping complexes. On the 18th, Mr. Kim raised his voice, saying, “To save the traditional market, we need to have our own competitiveness, such as infrastructure, but we are trying to bring down those who are good at it and level it down.”
Mr. Kim is also considered a successful self-employed person at Lotte World Mall. A tteokbokki restaurant opened in Hongdae six years ago, gaining popularity as a restaurant by word of mouth, and was offered to enter several shopping malls. Even when the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) was outbreak in 2015, Kim’s tteokbokki restaurant was said to have a long line, unlike other stores in the shopping mall. However, his store could not avoid the aftermath of the novel coronavirus infection (Corona 19). Last year, sales fell by 70-80%.
“The weekend closure is more scary than Corona”
It is true that large companies such as E-Mart and Lotte Shopping are operating the large complex showfill mall. However, many of the stores that filled the complex shopping mall are operated by self-employed people like Kim. Unlike department stores, large complex shopping malls have more small and medium-sized brands than global or conglomerate brands. In Starfield and Lotte Mall, at least 60% of the stores are small and medium-sized brands. Lotte Mall’s Suji branch accounts for about 70%. In addition to directly managed stores, there are many stores that operate in the form of centrally managed stores.
In this situation, self-employed people like Kim complained that if they designate a weekend as a mandatory holiday, they are seriously threatened. Under the current law, the mandatory holiday for large shopping malls is a public holiday twice a month (subject to change upon agreement with interested parties). Lee Kyung-soo (42), who runs a clothing store in Starfield Hanam, said, “The weekend closure is more scary than Corona.” During the peak season, weekend sales may exceed 80%. Mr. Lee is a private business that operates a clothing store by signing a contract with the brand headquarters. He said that last year, there was nothing left to do business with, so he used the money he saved to subtract from metallurgical metallurgy.
Self-employed people, such as Lee, use’high cost, high sales’ as their business model and enter large shopping malls. Only commissions (rental fees) deducting a certain portion of sales and management fees charged per store area (usually 2 to 3 times the actual area, including common areas) account for about 20% of total sales. It costs a lot more fixed costs than road shops, but sales are also large as the effect of attracting customers is great.
However, with Corona 19, this formula also collapsed. In the case of Starfield Hanam, the average number of visitors per day (weekends) from November to December last year decreased from 100,000 to 70,000, and Lotte World Mall also dropped sharply from 154700 to 99,000. Even inside shopping malls, there is a big difference between large companies and small and medium-sized brands. The Starbucks store in Starfield Goyang, which I visited at around 2 pm on the 18th, was full of customers, but most of the small and medium-sized brand cafes had only 1 to 3 customers.
“Everyone loses… Who is the bill for?”
Inside the Gyeonggi Starfield Goyang store on the afternoon of the 18th. Reporter Lee Byung-jun
Choi Seong-sik (pseudonym, 31), who runs a Chinese restaurant only in department stores and shopping malls after graduating from college, said, “Before and after Corona 19, the fixed cost is the same, but sales are decreasing, so we cannot survive.” Choi also cut sales in half due to Corona 19. He said, “Will people go to the market just because the mall is closed? It will be more focused online.”
Choi said, “If the mall is closed, the wages for employees decrease, and the real blow goes to SMEs and workers.” They pointed out that they do not receive the corresponding service.” Then he asked. “Who the hell is the bill for?”
The store staff I met at Starfield Goyang also made a voice. “If Corona 19 improves, weekend sales will increase rapidly, but it is ridiculous to forcefully take a break” (Cafe part-time job student A, 21) or “Twice a month in a situation where neither the traditional market nor the employees nor the business operator has any profit. It is an opinion that it is unreasonable to have to take a break on the same day” (Cafe employee Ryumo, 22).
“It doesn’t seem to be helpful for small business owners,” said Seo Ji-yong, professor of business administration at Sangmyung University. “The bigger problem is in the future. If the economy improves, the opportunity cost increases during mandatory closure, so it can hold the ankle hard (of a small business owner who entered a shopping mall). It is necessary to make up for the shortcomings through the enforcement decree.”
Reporters In-Young Chu and Byung-Joon Lee [email protected]