E-Mart to open first Korean supermarket chain in Laos

E-Mart Inc. said on Friday it will become the first South Korean supermarket company to open a chain store in Laos in its push to expand into Southeast Asia.

The arm of Shinsegae Group, the country’s largest retailer, on Thursday signed a master franchise agreement with UDEE Co. Ltd., an investment company of LVMC Holdings under Laos-based Kolao Group, in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos.

Under the contract, E-Mart is selling the operating rights to its chains to be established in Laos, instead of directly setting up stores there.

E-Mart sees great growth potential in Laos with its population of 7.5 million. In the absence of sizeable retail stores, its retail market is led by small stores and traditional markets.

UDEE Co. will open the first E-Mart store in Vientiane and three No Brand outlets in the second half of this year

No Brand is a grocery and burger store operator under E-Mart.

The Laos-based company aims to open 20 E-Mart stores and 70 No Brand outlets over the next 10 years.

Kolao is a portmanteau of Korea and Laos, established by Korean businessman Oh Sei-Young. He made inroads into the Southeast Asian country in 1997 by setting up a used car company and expanded into the banking, construction and leisure sectors.

Kolao is the largest private enterprise in the country, according to Forbes.

Kolao Group has also entered the retail market by opening the first outlet of Kok Kok Mega Mart, a small-size hypermarket chain, in Laos in March of last year. It also launched the first outlet of Kok Kok Mini Mart, a convenience store chain, in August of the same year.

Since 2016, E-Mart has been building up its presence in Vietnam, Mongolia and the Philippines under franchise agreements.

Sales at three E-Mart outlets in Vietnam jumped approximately 3.5 times in seven years in 2023. Four E-Mart stores in Mongolia saw their sales grow about ninefold during the same period.

The number of No Brand stores in the Philippines has increased to 17 since it opened its first store there in 2019. It gave no specific sales figures.

E-Mart is also preparing to launch the first Korean convenience store chain in Cambodia in the first half of this year.

Write to Jae-Kwang Ahn at ahnjk@hankyung.com
 


Yeonhee Kim edited this article.