Homeplus, which has secured 200 billion won in emergency debtor-in-possession financing, began a soft opening of its 67 stores on Friday. The official reopening is set for Aug. 13. From Friday through Wednesday, the retailer will stabilize its logistics supply chain, build out product assortments, and identify and address operational issues ahead of the formal launch. A Homeplus store in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, is seen operating during the soft opening. (Yun Chang-bin)
Homeplus, which has secured 200 billion won in emergency debtor-in-possession financing, began a soft opening of its 67 stores on Friday. The official reopening is set for Aug. 13. From Friday through Wednesday, the retailer will stabilize its logistics supply chain, build out product assortments, and identify and address operational issues ahead of the formal launch. A Homeplus store in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, is seen operating during the soft opening. (Yun Chang-bin)

Homeplus launched a soft opening of its 67 stores on Friday as the retailer moves to normalize operations.

The soft opening serves as a final preparatory phase before the official launch, allowing the company to verify that systems are functioning properly under real operating conditions and to address any shortcomings. Homeplus plans to complete operational checks and fixes through Aug. 12 before formally reopening all 67 stores on Aug. 13.

On the first day of the soft opening, the product stocking rate stood at around 30 percent. Homeplus said it will continue receiving inventory through Aug. 12 to ensure store shelves are fully stocked by the official opening on Aug. 13.

Homeplus said visits to its MHC (My Homeplus Card) membership app had dropped sharply following the temporary closure but rebounded to around 100,000 after the company announced its reopening schedule.

"We are grateful to the employees and business partners who joined us in resuming operations, as well as to all creditors including Meritz," a Homeplus official said. "We will do our utmost to complete the rehabilitation process successfully through a swift return to normal operations."


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