'Sales down, investments lost during restructuring'

A Homeplus store in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province [Herald Business DB]
A Homeplus store in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province [Herald Business DB]

Tenants operating stores inside Homeplus locations have called on the retailer's headquarters to hold open, direct talks as the company undergoes court receivership.

The Homeplus Tenant Owners' Association said Thursday in a statement that it "cannot simply wait for the national audit" and is demanding "open, direct dialogue" with Homeplus management.

"While restructuring discussions continue, the damage being suffered by store owners actually working on the ground keeps growing," the association said. "We can no longer resolve these problems through third-party intermediaries or one-sided explanations."

The association laid out five specific demands: immediate payment of outstanding settlement funds; fee adjustments to minimize losses; restoration of a normal business environment; reasonable contract termination terms and deposit refunds for tenants unable to continue operating; and a plan to cover restoration costs for tenants forced to vacate due to Homeplus's own management decisions.

"The damage we are experiencing must not be viewed simply as a sales decline caused by an economic slowdown or weakened consumer sentiment," the association said. "Store owners invested in facilities and capital and maintained their contracts on the assumption of normal operations, but the deterioration of the business environment during Homeplus's management and restructuring process has left them bearing multiple losses — including falling sales and investment losses."

The association added that the call was "not an attack on Homeplus, but an open proposal for the parties involved to meet directly and work out solutions together," warning that "store owners' contract periods, invested capital and business opportunities keep shrinking while we wait for the restructuring to conclude. We must meet directly before it is too late."

Meanwhile, at this year's national audit, MBK Partners Chairman Kim Byung-ju — the majority shareholder — has been approved as a witness before the Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups Committee, while Homeplus Chief Executive Cho Ju-yeon is set to appear before the Political Affairs Committee. However, Kim failed to appear at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups audit session held by the trade committee on Wednesday.


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