Dept. stores revamp basement floors to attract young consumers

Mardi Mercredi store at Lotte World Mall Jamsil. [Courtesy of Lotte Department Store]

Korean department stores are investing heavily in revamping their basement floors, recognizing them as strategic points for attracting customers. By leveraging the advantage of being connected to subway stations, they aim to draw in young consumers who use public transportation.

Three major department stores have expanded dessert halls, food halls, and beauty sections in their basements, targeting consumers in their 20s and 30s. They have also attracted popular fashion brands such as Matin Kim, Marithé + François Girbaud, and Mardi Mercredi to these basement floors.

According to industry sources on Sunday, Shinsegae Department Store’s Times Square branch will unveil its newly redesigned B2 floor on August 6th, 2024, now branded as “Fashion Street” and catering exclusively to trendy MZ generation brands. Fashion Street will feature various young fashion brands, including Marithé + François Girbaud, Draw Fit, Covernat, Mahagrid, Codegraphy, and Superdry. Out of 15 brands, 13 will be new and 11 making their debut, or an around 87 percent change.

Shinsegae Department Store started focusing on its basement floors with the Gangnam branch, which has introduced two new dessert halls and food halls in 2024 alone. The dessert hall, Sweet Park, opened in February, attracted 5.55 million visitors in five months. House of Shinsegae, the food hall and wine shop which opened in June, boosted food hall sales by 270 percent within a month. A second Sweet Park opened in Daegu on July 25th, becoming a hot spot among young people in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region.

Lotte Department Store’s main branch in Sogong-dong, Seoul, moved the center of its beauty section to B1 in 2022, breaking the conventional layout of having cosmetics on the first floor. The renovation saw beauty section sales increase by 15 percent from September 2022 to June 2024, with color cosmetics and perfumes popular among 20- and 30-somethings growing by 30 percent.

Lotte Department Store’s Jamsil branch also used its B1 floor’s connection to subway lines 2 and 8. Notably, Lotte World Mall’s B1 houses popular K-fashion brands such as Mardi Mercredi and Thisisneverthat.

The Hyundai Seoul in Yeongdeungpo-gu is the original success story of maximizing the subway connection advantage. The space dedicated to pop-up stores right in front of the exit to Yeouido Station on line 9 has become a symbolic location.

Hyundai Department Store also emphasized its basement floors in two 2024 renovations. The Jungdong branch introduced “Food Park” on B1, combining Korean and international food and beverage offerings. The annex’s B1 now features the “Trendy Section” with young contemporary and emerging designer brands, creating a space where food and fashion coexist.