From April on, all hypermarkets and big stores in Korea will be forced to close every second and fourth Sunday of the month. The measure aims at protecting smaller players, and diminishing the market share of chaebols.
Of course, HomePlus-Samsung-Tesco, Lotte, eMart-Shinsegae, won't not lose it all: expect even more crowded Saturdays, and the acceleration of substitution by online shopping. And naturally, the clock keeps ticking for the bulk of traditional markets.
Yet I see a potential boost for diversity in leisure and cultural activities.
Seoul Village 2012
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Thursday, March 22, 2012
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Korea is better than the U.S. in terms of protecting small shops.
ReplyDeleteWhen Walmart comes to any town in the US, it brings together a myriad of businesses inside the Walmart building it could imagine for its profits : nail salon, hair salon, pharmacy, photo shop, MacDonal, et cetra. You name it.
Small shop owners should close their business when this brutal predator comes. This is happening even in a few thousand rural towns in the US.
One of my friends in the US, pharmacist owning his own pharmacy, sold his pharmacy in 4 thousand population rural town to the inside-market-pharmacy-chain when he heard Walmart was coming to his small town.
I heard Walmart withdrew from Korea, for which I want to give a credit to Korean conglomerates like Samsung and Lotte.
As you know, the richest man in the world is Carlos Slim, a Mexican guy. Some Mexican people claim Carlos Slim is contributing to Mexico in terms of protecting Mexico in some sectors from the big predators from the north.
Korea is better than the U.S. in terms of protecting small shops.
ReplyDeleteWhen Walmart comes to any town in the US, it brings together a myriad of businesses inside the Walmart building it could imagine for its profits : nail salon, hair salon, pharmacy, photo shop, MacDonal, et cetra. You name it.
Small shop owners should close their business when this brutal predator comes. This is happening even in a few thousand rural towns in the US.
One of my friends in the US, pharmacist owning his own pharmacy, sold his pharmacy in 4 thousand population rural town to the inside-market-pharmacy-chain when he heard Walmart was coming to his small town.
I heard Walmart withdrew from Korea, for which I want to give a credit to Korean conglomerates like Samsung and Lotte.
As you know, the richest man in the world is Carlos Slim, a Mexican guy. Some Mexican people claim Carlos Slim is contributing to Mexico in terms of protecting Mexico in some sectors from the big predators from the north.
Carrefour also left because the usual business model couldn't work in Korea, where small producers used to be protected.
ReplyDeleteNow big retailers sell a lot through their own Private Label Brands: small fishes are out of the pond, and key players have lost a lot of negociation power.
Did you read the NYTimes article on Jan.14, entitled "The Empires Strike Back." It is quite interesting and reminds me of the geopolitical situations of Korea.
ReplyDeleteIt is regarding the regional competition between France and Turkey in the Middle East and around the Mediterranean.
It surprises me since the Turkish economy is just 70% of the Korean economy size and yet Turkey is aspiring to be a regional power, competing against France.
And thus, if Korea were geographically in the location of Turkey, how much more power would Korea project to the region?
"The Empires Strike Back"
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/opinion/sunday/the-empires-strike-back.html?pagewanted=all
Sarkozy's Mediterranean Union was more a campaign gimmick than a sincere vision, but some elements made sense. The problem is France is totally powerless.
ReplyDeleteTurkey is the economic / demographic / diplomatic powerhouse of tomorrow in Western Eurasia. And since some EU members block its entry, the country's considering a partnership with... Iran. Farfetched? In the long run (and more peaceful times), restoring this area as the center of the old world could pay off. A two-nation engine, swifter than the EU, could be very competitive.
Korea enjoys a very interesting location and that's one of the reasons why neither Japan nor China would like to see a reunified peninsula.
Likewise, Turkey will face, very much like Egypt in the past, deliberate actions to undermine its stability.
Note that the FTA between Korea and Turkey has just been signed.