Shinsegae Department Store (004170.KS) has opened its first overseas off-price store, marking the international debut of Shinsegae Factory Store, a discount retail format it operates directly. Off-price stores buy overstock and end-of-season goods from well-known brands and sell them below regular prices.
The company said the store opened at the KOKKOK Mega Mall Patuxai branch in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, and disclosed the opening on the 12th. It is the first overseas outlet under a franchise agreement with Grand View Property, an affiliate of Laos-based retailer Kolao Group.
About 10,000 people visited the store on its opening day, according to Shinsegae. Covering roughly 400 pyeong (about 1,320 square meters), the Laos store is built as a department-store-style off-price outlet that gathers brands hand-picked by Shinsegae. It sells Korean fashion labels such as Kirsh, Brownbreath and Covernat, along with City Breeze, Volt, Cleveland Golf and Adidas Golf. The company also focused on localization, making summer items about 80% of its product lineup to suit the local climate. Beyond clothing, Korean beauty brands including Beauty of Joseon, Nature Republic and Skin1004 have also opened outlets in the store.
Using the Laos store as a springboard, Shinsegae plans to expand its franchise business to major Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand and Vietnam. The company intends to tap overseas markets with a Korean-style off-price model, drawing on the product-sourcing and store-operating capabilities it has built at home. It also expects to reduce inventory burdens by widening overseas sales channels for end-of-season goods from domestic brands, while supporting the overseas expansion of smaller labels.
A Shinsegae Department Store official said the Laos store is "a meaningful starting point for introducing Shinsegae Factory Store, which has proven its competitiveness at home, to overseas markets for the first time," adding that "beginning with Southeast Asia, we will continue to expand the reach of our Korean-style off-price business."
