Hundreds of thousands of visitors have flocked to the waterfront park at Busan Port's North Port to see a shark nicknamed "Bukangi," delivering a short-lived windfall to nearby businesses. Sales at convenience stores and cafes in the area surged, and products evoking sharks flew off the shelves.
Average sales at CU convenience stores near the North Port waterfront park jumped 76% between the 19th, just after the shark appeared, and the 27th, compared with the preceding period of Sept. 5 to 13, according to retail industry data released on the 28th. Sales at nearby Seven Eleven and emart24 stores rose 42% and 15%, respectively, over the same period.
With family visitors arriving in large numbers, sales rose sharply not only for food but across a range of categories including toys and household goods. At Seven Eleven, sales of instant coffee and tea rose as much as sevenfold during the period, while stationery and toys increased tenfold and ice cream tripled. As visitors used their phones more to photograph the shark, sales of mobile phone accessories rose 85%.
Nearby cafes also benefited from the "Bukangi effect." Average sales at four Starbucks outlets near the North Port waterfront park rose 8% from the preceding period. Ediya also saw more customers and orders than usual as visitors poured in.
Food companies moved quickly to ride the wave. Orion posted content on its official social media account featuring the shark-shaped crackers found in its Gorae-bap snack, with the line, "Gorae-bap has sharks, too." Lotte Wellfood joined in with a post featuring its Jaws Bar ice cream and the line, "Live from Busan's North Port: one more Jaws has appeared!"
Following the shark's appearance, sales of Jaws Bar and Gorae-bap at CU stores in Busan's Dong district rose 54% and 29%, respectively, from the previous week. Both outpaced the nationwide increases at CU stores over the same period, which were 26% for Jaws Bar and 18% for Gorae-bap. At Seven Eleven outlets near the North Port waterfront park, Jaws Bar sales rose tenfold, far above the 28% increase across the chain's stores nationwide.
The gains reflect the crowds drawn in a short span as the shark became a talking point. A total of 568,800 people visited the North Port waterfront park between the 19th, when official counting began, and the 27th, according to the Busan Infrastructure Corporation.
The shark is set to leave the North Port waterfront park soon and return to open waters. Busan City decided on the same day to use boats and water pumps to guide the animal out to the open sea on its own.
