[Edaily Reporter Han Jeon-jin ] E-MART Co., Ltd.(139480)E-MART Co., Ltd. has suspended operations at its Eunpyeong branch of “Wow Shop,” the first standalone large-scale store under its own fixed-price household goods brand. This comes just two months after the company expanded the existing corner store—which was about 20 pyeong—into a standalone store of around 100 pyeong. While E-MART Co., Ltd. states it plans to reopen soon after facility maintenance, some in the industry speculate that the expansion process may have revealed unexpected limitations, such as location and customer traffic.

According to industry sources

, E-MART Co., Ltd. suspended

Wow

on the

floor of the Eunpyeong

starting on the 1st and began renovation work. The company plans to reopen the store sometime next month after replacing key facilities and fixtures, making interior improvements, and adjusting customer flow patterns. An E-MART Co., Ltd. official stated, “We determined that improvements were needed in customer convenience and the shopping environment during store operations, so we are currently conducting additional renovation work,” adding, “We identified areas for improvement, such as customer flow, while testing the layout of large-scale stores on a pilot basis last July.”

Wow Shop is an ultra-low-price curated zone for daily necessities that E-MART Co., Ltd. first introduced last December at its Wangsimni branch. All products are sold at a uniform price ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 won, with prices kept low through 100% direct sourcing from overseas. Since the start of this year, the company has expanded the number of stores to 13 and rolled out signature items to stores nationwide, demonstrating its commitment to the concept.

The Eunpyeong branch served as the first testing ground for scaling up Wow Shop. Last July, E-MART Co., Ltd. relocated and expanded the Eunpyeong branch’s Wow Shop—which had previously been a 62.8-square-meter (19 pyeong) corner section on the third floor—to a 337-square-meter (102 pyeong) space on the sixth floor. This marked the first time it was introduced as an independent store with its own checkout counters and signage. The number of items carried also increased significantly, from about 1,300 to about 1,980. As the largest of the 13 Wow Shops nationwide, it was cited as the first case to gauge the potential for future expansion.

At the time, E-MART Co., Ltd. cited customer response as the primary reason for the expansion. The company explained that immediately following the expansion, average sales on weekdays and weekends increased by 52.1% and 78.4%, respectively. However, it remains unclear whether this trend continued afterward. Given that the store has embarked on renovations again—removing all merchandise and a significant portion of the display fixtures just two months later—some analysts suggest that operating a large-scale store may not have gone as smoothly as anticipated.

Industry observers point out that the location itself was problematic from the start. While the third floor follows the natural shopping flow leading to the grocery section, the sixth floor houses dining options such as family restaurants—a space customers must intentionally go to for a specific purpose. Wow Shop does not yet enjoy brand recognition on par with Daiso. Analysts suggest that moving the corner—which shoppers used to casually stop by while doing their grocery shopping—to a higher floor makes it difficult to expect the same level of foot traffic as before.

The already fierce competition in the ultra-low-price household goods market is also a burden. Daiso has established itself as the leading channel, leveraging its network of over 1,600 stores nationwide and a wide product assortment. On top of that, Chinese e-commerce platforms like HanExpress and Temu are also mounting an offensive with low-priced products. Since major product categories—such as storage, kitchen, bathroom, and stationery—overlap significantly with existing channels, some observers believe Wow Shop still lacks the differentiating factors that would draw consumers to it.

A retail industry official stated, “Wow Shop started as a place where customers naturally stopped by while grocery shopping, but once it moves to a standalone store, it will have to attract customers on its own.” The official added, “Since brand awareness is still low, location and customer flow will inevitably become even more critical during the expansion process.” The official further noted, “With so many ultra-low-price channels already in the market—such as Daiso, AliExpress, and Temu—it won’t be easy to differentiate solely on price.”