Korea's hypermarket chain Homeplus to sell Walmart's PB products

[Source: Homeplus]

South Korea’s discount retail major Homeplus will sell private brand (PB) products of U.S. multinational hypermarket giant Walmart, which would range from processed foods to camping and home furnishing products, in hopes of luring consumers with more reasonably priced products at a time of high inflation.

Homeplus announced on Wednesday that it has signed a deal with Walmart to sell the latter’s PB products in its stores across Korea. Under the deal, the Korean retail major will sell various PB products of Walmart under brands like Great Value for canned foods, snacks, detergents, and toilet papers, and Mainstays for bedding and furniture.

Homeplus will start to sell Walmart camping goods first and then gradually add other Walmart PB products over a year, it said.

Homeplus expects the partnership would help bring more consumers to its stores at a time of high inflation. The Korean retail chain will start to sell camping gear and outdoor grills of Walmart’s brands, Ozark Trail and Expert Grill on Thursday, priced lower than their Korean counterparts. Homeplus also plans to bring in Great Value’s low-priced, good-quality food products to bolster its price competitiveness in the Korean market.

In general, Korean retailors’ import shipment deals with foreign partners are based on the Free on Board (FOB) terms, meaning the seller is liable for goods that are damaged or destroyed during shipping. If Homeplus and Walmart also signed their deal on the same condition, the selling price of Walmart PB products at Homeplus stores would be about 120 percent of the local price in the U.S.

Still, Homeplus is expected to secure price competitiveness as Walmart products would be cheaper than their Korean counterparts.

Ozark Trail’s 7 Pyramid The Indian Tipi Tent is priced at 79,200 won ($62.58) in Korea, cheaper than its original U.S. price of $79, while Ozark Trail Camp Wagon Cart will be sold at 79,200 won, 22 percent cheaper than the original price of $80.

Homeplus currently operates 135 hypermarket stores and 332 Homeplus Express outlets across Korea.

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