Homeplus announces executive promotions

Lee Jae-hoon, left, and Joh Ju-yeon

South Korean retailer Homeplus unveiled a recent management reshuffle on Monday, promoting CEO Lee Jae-hoon to Vice Chairman and appointing CMO Joh Ju-yeon as CEO. The strategic move recognizes the duo’s contributions to enhancing the company’s competitiveness both online and offline, amid challenging market conditions that are affecting other large retailers.

One key achievement highlighted in the evaluations is the successful transition to online operations. Homeplus experienced robust growth, with online sales increasing by an average of 20 percent annually over the past five years. The company topped 1 trillion won ($750 million) in online sales for three consecutive years starting in 2021, surpassing the 1 trillion won mark within just three quarters in 2023.

Online sales accounted for about 15 percent of the total revenue of 6.6 trillion won, the highest proportion in the retail industry. Homeplus attributes this success to proactive investments made despite challenging business conditions.

“We recognized the contributions made in achieving revenue growth through preemptive investments despite a challenging domestic and international environment and the management reshuffle aims to strengthen the leadership structure,” the company said.

Lee and Joh’s promotions will be effective from February 1st, 2024.

Lee is credited with driving strong sales growth by renovating stores and enhancing delivery services. He launched Homeplus Mega Food Market, a large food store centered on fresh food, and reportedly increased sales per store by up to 95 percent.

Homeplus also implemented customer-centric delivery systems, such as ‘Instant Delivery,’ providing immediate shipping of ordered items, and ‘Mart Delivery,’ allowing customers to choose their preferred delivery times.

Joh, who will oversee the overall management of Homeplus, previously held leadership positions at LG Electronics and Motorola before joining McDonald’s Korea in 2011. As the first internal appointment and the first female managing director at McDonald’s Korea, she is known for for revitalizing the Homeplus brand and leading growth across all sectors.