E-mart Traders outnumbers Costco, aims W1.9tr in sales

Warehouse-style discount chain store E-mart Traders said Thursday that it aims to achieve sales of 1.9 trillion won ($1.7 billion) this year, in an effort to bolster its offline shopping base amid fierce competition on e-commerce market.

E-mart Traders (E-mart)

E-mart Traders, a retail arm of Shinsegae Group, plans to open one or two more outlets this year. Since its launch in 2010, it opened a total of 14 stores across the country, with new branches in Gunsan and Gimpo opening in December last year. 

E-mart Traders has more outlets, beating its US rival Costco which has 13 stores here.

Unlike at Costco, E-mart Traders customers do not need to sign up for a membership and pay a compulsory annual fee of 30,000 won. It also accepts all kinds of payment methods including credit cards and cash. Costco only accepts the Samsung Card and cash for payment. 

According to the company, it has posted a solid 25 percent on-year growth in sales for three consecutive years since opening. It reached a sales of 1.52 trillion won in 2017, up 27.2 percent from the previous year.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)

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