**Up to 50% Cheaper Compared to Existing Discount Stores…The Grocery War Among Large Supermarkets Ignites**
(Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Jeon Seong-hoon – On the 12th, E-Mart announced that it will open its grocery-specialized store, ‘E-Mart Food Market Suseong Branch’, on the 13th.
Based on reinforcing its core business competitiveness, E-Mart is introducing a new price innovation model, aiming to sell food at the lowest prices all year round, branding itself as a ‘grocery hard discount store’.
Of the total operating area of 3,966㎡ (about 1,200 pyeong), 2,829㎡ (about 856 pyeong, or 86% of the direct rental space) is dedicated to groceries, excluding tenant shops and event spaces.
The product prices are up to 50% cheaper than those at existing discount stores.
Meat, typically sold in 600g units at discount stores, is reduced to 400–500g, and the packaging size for vegetables is decreased by over 30%, reducing the unit price by up to 50%.
Highly price-sensitive processed foods such as ramen, sesame oil, gochujang (Korean chili paste), tuna, milk, and wine are sold at the lowest regional market prices through periodic surveys.
In collaboration with major partners, E-Mart has prepared about 70 types of its private label series, ‘Reasonable Price’, suitable for the Food Market.
An E-Mart representative said, “By minimizing store operating costs and focusing solely on price discounts, we aim to provide customers with surprising and overwhelming prices for groceries.”
The Suseong Food Market is E-Mart’s second next-generation futuristic store, following Starfield Market Jukjeon.
While Starfield Market Jukjeon achieved space innovation by integrating relaxation, experience, and shopping as a regional shopping mall, E-Mart Food Market Suseong achieved price innovation by significantly lowering shopping cart costs, according to E-Mart.
With E-Mart launching its own grocery-specialized store, the competition in grocery sales among discount stores is expected to intensify further.
Lotte Mart, which branded itself as the ‘Number One Grocery Market’, converted its Eunpyeong branch into the first ‘Grand Grocery’ store at the end of last year and remodeled the Lotte Super Dogok, a corporate supermarket (SSM), into another Grand Grocery last month.
Homeplus is also transforming its existing stores one by one into Megat Food Markets, substantially enhancing the grocery section.