• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.32 no.8
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• pp.1233-1243
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• 2008

This study examined return policies of the Korean retailers and their differences by retail format. Return policies of 363 retailers including dept stores, discount stores, brand consignment stores, small shops, outlet stores, TV home shopping companies, and internet shopping malls were collected. Acceptance of refund or/and exchange, return grace period, and return requirements or restrictions of each retailer were analyzed. The results showed that most retail formats except small shops and internet shopping malls allowed refund. The seven day return grace period was most common though large retail chains allowed more generous time frames and small shops allowed shorter dates. Restrictions for return varied by retailers and retail formats. Generally retailers followed the guidelines of consumer protection laws. The study discussed implications of return policy analysis.

• Korean Business Review
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• v.13
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• pp.107-132
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• 2000

The entry of large discount stores such as E-mart, LG mart, Magnet etc. into small cities have had a profound impact on the business of small-sized retailers. Now, it becomes the matter of survival for small-sized retailers and it is almost impossible to reverse those trends. Without satisfying consumers' various needs and wants, retailers can not survive. Therefore, it is extremely important to understand retail competition from the perspective of consumers in order for retailers to survive in the turbulent environment. The previous research studies on retail competition have focused on the comparison among different types of retailers with respect to strategic retail mix variables. However, they do not consider the competitive aspects of consumers' sides. In addition, we do not fully understand the meaning of "shopping." Shopping means hedonic shopping as well as utilitarian shopping. Utilitarian aspects are important but consumers also prefer' hedonic aspects too. That is the reason that traditional retailers such as small-sized retailers can not compete with modem and large retailers. We use three different methods to identify the macro and competitive structure. of retailing with respect to shopping. Factor analysis, multidimensional scaling, and multiple correspondence analysis are used to produce perceptual mapping of retail competition. Department store and large discount store are identified as close competitors but both might have an indirect impact on small-sized retailers through demand shift toward high end retailers.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.25-36
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• 2011

Owing to the rapid growth of hypermarket/discount store formats since 1996, Korean retailing has suddenly attracted the significant attention from researchers. Before the emergence of large scale retailers such as E-Mart, Lotte Mart and Tesco Korea, there were the two retail formats who led the Korean retailing in the modern retailing history: department store and supermarket formats. Nevertheless, there has been little literature concerned about the two retail formats as a case study, while some authors have paid their attention to hypermarket/discount store formats. In addition, when mentioning the development process of retailing history, it is less likely that authors have made an effort to illustrate supermarket retailing history. In order to regard supermarket retailing as part of the Korean retailing, it is interesting to look at a representative supermarket retailer, Haitai, who was one of the subsidiaries of Haitai chaebol. Based on supermarket retailing, the company which was established as a joint venture in 1974 led a supermarket retailing in the Korean modernised retailing history. Before analysing whether Haitai failed or not, the definition of failure should be illustrated. With regard to the term, failure, in the academic world, authors have interchangeably used the following terms: failure, divestment, closure, organisational restructuring, and exit. To collect research data as a case study, the author adopted an in-depth interview method. The research is based on research interviews with 13 ex-staff who left after Haitai went bankruptcy, from store management department to merchandise department. By investigating Haitai's experiences through field interviews, the research found that Haitai restructured organisational decision-making process at the early stage when companies started to modernise organisational charts, benchmarking sophisticated retailing knowledge through the strategic alliance with a Japanese retailer. In respect of buying system, the company established firmly buying functions by adopting central buying system, and further, outstandingly allocated considerable marketing resources to the development of retailer brands with the dedicated team of retailer brand development. In the grocery retailing, abandoning a 'no-frill' packaging concept, the introduction of retailer brand packaging equal to, or better than national brand packaging design, encouraged other retailers to change their retailer brand development strategies. In product sourcing ways, Haitai organised for the first time the overseas sourcing team with the aim of improving the profit margins of foreign products and providing exotic products for customers, followed by other retailers. Regarding distribution system, the company introduced the innovative idea which delivered products ordered by stores directly to each store withboth its own vehicles and its own warehouse in which could deal with dry foods, chilly foods, frozen food, and non-foods, and even, process produce. In addition, Haitai developed many promotional methods to attract more customers like 'the guarantee of the lowest price', and expanded its own business to US in 1996, although withdrew, because of bankruptcy in 1997. Together with POS introduction in 1994, Haitai made a significant contribution to the development of the Korean retailing, influencing other retailers in many aspects. As a case study, the study has provided a number of lessons from Haitai's experiences for academicians and practitioners, suggesting that its history should be involved in the Korean modernised retailing.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.23-30
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• 2014

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to analyze the efficiency of retail businesses by dividing domestic retailers into discount stores, super supermarkets (SSMs), and department stores. It suggests retail-business investment strategies by using data environment analysis (DEA) to analyze how input elements such as store area, parking lot area, number of employees, and sales management expenses for the convenience of customers positively affect business performance measurements such as sales and visiting customers per day. Research Design, Data, and Methodology - The DEA model calculates a ratio of the weighted mean of various inputs to the weighted mean of various outputs and measures the efficiency of a specific decision making unit (DMU). The study included 19 companies (five discount store DMUs, ten SSM DMUs, and four department store DMUs). Because the business elements and sizes of retail store DMUs used in this analysis are different, average per-store input and output variables were used. Data were collected from "The Yearbook of Retail Industry in Korea (2012)." DEA analysis was used to determine differences in efficiency among discount stores, SSMs, and department stores in terms of the business elements of each retail business. It was also used to determine what business elements were excessively invested in by comparing and analyzing efficiency by business elements using SPSS software's ANOVA (Analysis of Variance). Results - The CCR and BCC efficiency analysis found that the efficiency of discount stores is low. We believe that the saturation state of discount stores is a major factor. The ANOVA analysis confirms the VRS hypothesis with a statistically significant difference among the three groups, based on an analysis confidence interval of 95%. CRS and SE were not found to be significantly different among the three groups. As for the post hoc test, which concretely shows differences by group, the Scheffe's multiple comparison analysis test found the average differences between group 1 (discount stores) and group 2 (SSM) to be statistically significant. Conclusions - The DEA efficiency analysis implies that investment in input elements, including store area, parking lot area, and sales management expenses, were excessive in the case of discount stores, while SSMs need to invest more in promotion activities such as gifts, events, and coupons for customer management. Department stores have found that small companies invest excessively in input elements. Department stores need to invest in differentiated shopping mall complexes. This study was limited in acquiring statistical data; various input variables which might have shown more secure customer management and promotional expenses could not be applied. As the study was limited in various aspects of the efficiency analyses because financial analyses of the companies and of causal relationships, including satisfaction and loyalty of visiting customers, were not done, these aspects will be examined in the next study.

• Journal of the Korea Society of Computer and Information
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.221-229
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• 2015

In this paper, it should be established what influence to customer satisfaction by advertisement and promotion, store management and quality of products of large discount stores, and in order to present the structural relation model. In order to establish it empirically, this study proposed a structured alternative model by conducting a survey to customers live in metropolitan areas who use biggest discount store, through the SPSSWIN 18.0 and AMOS 18.0. This analysis shows a number of points, first, customers were aware of having meaningful impact on store management to products quality. Through broad and clean store represents confidence appears to have a products quality. Second, the store management were shown to have a meaningful impact on customer satisfaction. Cleanliness and atmosphere of store, convenience of parking facilities, and transportation convenience of their roles in customer satisfaction seem to believe. Third, advertising and promotion is shown to not affected meaningful impact on stores management, products quality and customer satisfaction.

• The Korean Journal of Franchise Management
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.79-102
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• 2012

The last year, the government restricted a new store open and businness hours of a large-scale stores, discount store and super super market(ssm). So, this research was examined the effect that the retailer was affected and its correspondence strategy First this research examined how the government restricted a large-scale stores in 2009 earlier and then this research analyzed how the Japan and France restricted it. Second this research examined that a new establishment and business hours change of a large-scale stores. Bacause of a small trader resistance in 2009 latter. Finally it analyzed the effect that a retail industry was affected in the future. bacause law was enforced. On the basis these things, a victim remedy was presented by retailers view. Bacause of international law and an excess regulation. Also, this research suggest that large retailer should expand a overse market and increase retailers private brand component ratio and develop overse brand. Finally this research also suggest that trader and retailer should continue to coperate and turn business direction into franchise system.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.1-24
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• 2010

I. Introduction The industry of domestic discount store was reorganized with 2 bigs and 1 middle, and then Home Plus took over Home Ever in 2008. In present, Oct, 2008, E-Mart has 118 outlets, Home Plus 112 outlets, and Lotte Mart 60 stores. With total number of 403 outlets, they are getting closer to a saturation point. We know that the industry of discount store has been getting through the mature stage in retail life cycle. There are many efforts to maintain existing customers rather than to get new customers. These competitions in this industry lead firms to acknowledge 'store loyalty' to be the first strategic tool for their sustainable competitiveness. In other words, the strategic goal of discount store is to boost up the repurchase rate of customers throughout increasing store loyalty. If owners of retail shops can figure out main factors for store loyalty, they can easily make more efficient and effective retail strategies which bring about more sales and profits. In this practical sense, there are many papers which are focusing on the antecedents of store loyalty. Many researchers have been inspecting causal relationships between antecedents and store loyalty; store characteristics, store image, atmosphere in store, sales promotion in store, service quality, customer characteristics, crowding, switching cost, trust, satisfaction, commitment, etc., In recent times, many academic researchers and practitioners have been interested in 'dual path model for service loyalty'. There are two paths in store loyalty. First path has an emphasis on symbolic and emotional dimension of service brand, and second path focuses on quality of product and service. We will call the former an extrinsic path and call the latter an intrinsic path. This means that consumers' cognitive path for store loyalty is not single but dual. Existing studies for dual path model are as follows; First, in extrinsic path, some papers in domestic settings show that there is 'store personality-identification-loyalty' path. Second, service quality has an effect on loyalty, which is a behavioral variable, in the mediation of customer satisfaction. But, it's very difficult to find out an empirical paper applied to domestic discount store based on this mediating model. The domestic research for store loyalty concentrates on not only intrinsic path but also extrinsic path. Relatively, an attention for intrinsic path is scarce. And then, we acknowledge that there should be a need for integrating extrinsic and intrinsic path. Also, in terms of retail industry, this study is meaningful because retailers want to achieve their competitiveness by using store loyalty. And so, the purpose of this paper is to integrate and complement two existing paths into one specific model, dual path model. This model includes both intrinsic and extrinsic path for store loyalty. With this research, we would expect to understand the full process of forming customers' store loyalty which had not been clearly explained. In other words, we propose the dual path model for discount store loyalty which has been originated from store personality and service quality. This model is composed of extrinsic path, discount store personality$\rightarrow$store identification$\rightarrow$store loyalty, and intrinsic path, service quality of discount store$\rightarrow$customer satisfaction$\rightarrow$store loyalty. II. Research Model Dual path model integrates intrinsic path and extrinsic path into one specific model. Intrinsic path put an emphasis on quality characteristics and extrinsic path focuses on brand characteristics. Intrinsic path is based on information processing perspective, and extrinsic path emphasizes symbolic and emotional dimension of brand. This model is composed of extrinsic path, discount store personality$\rightarrow$store identification$\rightarrow$store loyalty, and intrinsic path, service quality of discount store$\rightarrow$customer satisfaction$\rightarrow$store loyalty. Hypotheses are as follows; Hypothesis 1: Service quality perceived by customers in discount store has an positive effect on customer satisfaction Hypothesis 2: Store personality perceived by customers in discount store has an positive effect on store identification Hypothesis 3: Customer satisfaction in discount store has an positive effect on store loyalty. Hypothesis 4: Store identification has an positive effect on store loyalty. III. Results and Implications We examined consumers who patronize discount stores for samples of this study. With the structural equation model(SEM) analysis, we empirically tested the validity and fitness of the dual path model for store loyalty in discount stores. As results, the fitness indices of this model were well fitted to data obtained. In an intrinsic path, service quality(SQ) is positively related to customer satisfaction(CS), customer satisfaction(CS) has very significantly positive effect on store loyalty(SL). Also, in an extrinsic path, the store personality(SP) is positively related to store identification(SI), it shows significant effect on store loyalty. Table 1 shows the results as follows; There are some theoretical and practical implications. First, Many studies on discount store loyalty have been executed from various perspectives. But there has been no integrative view on this issue. And so, this research was theoretically designed to integrate various and controversial arguments into one systematic model. We empirically tested dual path model forming store loyalty, and brought up a systematic and integrative framework for future studies. We want to expect creative and aggressive research activities. Second, a few established papers are focused on the relationship between antecedents and store loyalty; store characteristics, atmosphere, sales promotion in store, service quality, trust, commitment, etc., There has been some limits in understanding thoroughly the formation process of store loyalty with a singular path, intrinsic or extrinsic. Beyond these limits in single path, we could propose the new path for store loyalty. This is meaningful. Third, discount store firms make and execute marketing strategies for increasing store loyalty. This research provides real practitioners with reference framework needed for actual strategy formation. Because this paper shows integrated and systematic path for store loyalty. A special feature of this study is to represent 6 sub dimensions of service quality in intrinsic path and 4 sub dimensions of store personality in extrinsic path. Marketers can make more analytic marketing planning with concrete sub dimensions of service quality and store personality. When marketers of discount stores make strategic planning like MPR, Ads, campaign, sales promotion, they can use many items which are more competitive than competitors.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.5-16
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• 2007

The objective of the research which it sees is the unification regarding a retail trade terminology. It prevented the confusion of the terminology against retail business area and in order to arrange a terminology definition in domestic retail trade origination properly. This research took charge of from distribution terminology definition commission. in korea distribution science association. The terminology which is defined with Department store, Super Market, Specialty Store, Convenience Store, Drug Store, Non Store Retailing, Discount Store, Shopping Center, shopping street, Market.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Interior Design Conference
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• 2005.10a
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• pp.193-196
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• 2005

The value of all goods and services produced in the economy divided by population has risen from $7.355 in 1998 to $12.646 in 2003. In other to maintain higher standard of lifestyle, people are 'hungry' for time. The idea of saving time and money by providing many different types of products altogether in one space was implemented with the advent of large warehouse style discount stores. These type of retailers grew in size and popularity during the 1990s and 2000s, causing a decline in sales in the old, traditional downtown markets. From ancient to twenty-first century, the role of the grocery store has been that of the social center of the community; a place of unity and interaction of people. The experience a customer engages in at a grocery store is comparable to that of a museum. Not only is the grocery store a unique, physical space to visit, but also a rich collection of fascination items. The layout of the interior space is meticulously planned for the efficiency of customer circulation and the success of product exhibition. Eye catching graphics and attractive lighting also add to the appeal of the grocery store's high style. Shoppers are no longer satisfied with just buying good products at a lower price. Shoppers prefer to spend time in an entertaining environment. The Hanaro Mart project in this study propose the idea of warehouse style discount stores which can satisfy all the demands of customers and their various activities. This study will open up unique dimensions of aesthetic expression and experience in the interior environments. Shopping for food is an unavoidable task. If food shopping is enjoyable, more people will spend more time at it.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.21 no.12
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• pp.113-125
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• 2023

Purpose: Support policies for small and medium-sized retailers (SMSRs) have been promoted in various ways over the past 20 years, but they are generally regarded as unsuccessful. The purpose of this study is to analyze the process and impact of policy changes, identify the reasons for the lack of success, and explore policy alternatives. Research design, data and methodology: This study explored major policies in various categories such as the retail industry, traditional markets, and Micro-Enterprises from the mid-1990s to the present. It also analyzed the short- and long-term impacts of major policies at the retail format level like SMSRs, using data from Statistics Korea's service industry survey. Results: This research found that sudden shifts in policy philosophy conflicted with the existing market structure and reduced the effectiveness of policies. It also found that policies aimed at improving competitiveness at the SMSRs-level had some effect, while polices aimed at supporting expenses at the individual store-level were difficult to achieve their intended purpose. Conclusions: The failure of the policy to support SMSRs is fundamentally due to the late response and conflicts between policies. It was also not successful due to the policy's focus on individual store-level expenses and maintaining employment rather than structural improvements of SMSRs format.