E-Mart Everday not to sell fresh food products in traditional markets

The Shinsegae group has decided to not to sell fresh food products including fishery products, fruits and vegetables at E-Mart Everyday stores, which are “super supermarkets” run by large companies, located in traditional markets.

The group said on Monday that it would operate “co-existence stores” where it does not sell fresh food products that overlap with items sold in traditional markets, as part of its efforts to seek a win-win situation with traditional markets.

The group said its decision is based on the opinions from merchants in traditional markets after it signed a contract for co-existence with Small Enterprise and Market Service in July. E-Mart Everyday will not sell 92 items including vegetables, fruits and fishery products, which account for 20 percent of the stores’ revenue or about four billion won (3.83 million U.S. dollars) in annual revenue. It will replace fresh food products with home meal replacements, imported snacks, small home appliances, and pet products, which do not overlap with what traditional markets sell.

“The co-existence stores will be a watershed in the relationship between large and small retailers in Korea,” said Kim Hae-sung, CEO of the Shinsegae group. “With the start of this, we plan to add more practical programs that can revitalize traditional markets.”