While many other retail channels were negatively hit by COVID-19, variety stores in South Korea performed relatively well despite the temporary decline of footfall when the country faced several major waves of the virus. Aside from the core value proposition offered by variety stores, providing household goods at low prices, the channel also benefited from the growing demand for home décor and indoor hobbies as consumers spent prolonged time at home.
Variety stores traditionally offer a wide range of household goods, such as home care, snacks, personal care items, and stationery. However, as consumer preference for value-for-money products continues to rise, variety store players have started to expand product categories to capitalise on the trend.
In 2021, Daiso, South Korea’s leading “dollar store”, continued to record a strong performance due to its continued investment in product development. For instance, its signature seasonal products, which have gained in popularity amongst younger consumers, attracted the attention of customers who are consistently searching for charming stationery to share on their social media pages.
South Korean consumers are becoming increasingly price-sensitive as living costs, especially the price of groceries, has rapidly increased since 2020. Despite efforts by the government and the central bank to ease the rise of the consumer price index, South Koreans’ spending habits continue to be significantly affected.
JAJU, Shinsegae International Inc’s lifestyle retail brand, gained share from Muji when the boycott against Japanese brands intensified and expanded to major cities, such as Seoul and Busan despite the pandemic, reaching more than 200 outlets as of 2021. In particular, JAJU’s apparel offer contributed to the stable performance of the company as consumer demand for comfortable clothing to wear at home spiked.
In addition to its localisation strategy, adding domestically-produced grocery items to its shelves, Muji reduced the retail price of more than 800 products in 2021. Although Muji has found success in South Korea with its premium positioning amongst variety stores players, the recent rise of local players such as JAJU and Daiso, have presented a threat.
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Understand the latest market trends and future growth opportunities for the Variety Stores industry in South Korea with research from Euromonitor International's team of in-country analysts – experts by industry and geographic specialisation.
Key trends are clearly and succinctly summarised alongside the most current research data available. Understand and assess competitive threats and plan corporate strategy with our qualitative analysis, insight and confident growth projections.
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Variety stores are chained or independent retail outlets with a primary focus on selling a range of merchandise across several categories. Variety stores are chained or independent retail outlets with a primary focus on selling a range of merchandise across several categories, although they may also sell grocery items. Includes fixed-price stores (e.g. dollar stores) and catalogue showrooms. Example brands include Dollar General, Woolworth (Germany), and Miniso.
See All of Our DefinitionsThis report originates from Passport, our Variety Stores research and analysis database.
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