Homeplus posted more than 10 billion won ($7.07 million) in sales on the first day it reopened 67 hypermarket locations nationwide.
According to industry sources and the company's union, total sales on Thursday — the chain's first day back — reached 10.63 billion won, up 1.2 percent from the same period a year earlier. Offline sales across all 67 stores came to 8.08 billion won, an 18.6 percent increase year-on-year. The number of in-store customers at those locations rose 15 percent.
E-commerce sales, however, fell 11.1 percent to 848 million won, while revenue from small-business tenants operating inside Homeplus stores dropped 12.9 percent to 1.7 billion won.
The divergence reflects a surge in shoppers returning to physical stores for fresh food, offset by the closure of a significant number of tenant vendors during Homeplus's temporary shutdown.
Sales growth was concentrated in fresh produce, meat, dairy and deli items. In Seoul, the Gangseo and World Cup stores each recorded more than 200 million won in sales on Thursday alone. Several regional stores matched that figure, including the Buk-Suwon store in Gyeonggi Province, the Seongseo store in Daegu, the Asiad store in Busan and the Ulsan store.
All 67 Homeplus locations are running a "Homeplus is BACK" promotional event from Thursday through Sunday, offering loyalty program members discounts of up to 50 percent on all grades of Korean beef. On Thursday, second-grade Korean beef sirloin sold for around 4,900 won per 100 grams, drawing long lines at the meat counter.
Starting Friday and running through Sunday, the chain will also sell its "Dangdang Fried Chicken" at around 3,400 won per bird, limited to one per customer.
The deadline for creditors to approve Homeplus's rehabilitation plan is Sept. 4. The company must either demonstrate a credible path to recovery within that window or proceed with a sale.
soho0902@heraldcorp.com
