Visitors shop at the Hyundai Seoul department store in Yeouido, western Seoul, in this file photo taken on Feb. 26, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, April 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Buyers from major department stores are moving heaven and earth to procure better products, as many of small and medium-sized enterprises which were once standing cap in hand to ask department stores to sell their products are now shifting focus towards e-commerce platforms.
A Hyundai Department Store buyer recently succeeded in attracting a restaurant franchise run by a famous YouTuber after visiting a rural area in Hongcheon County, Gangwon Province more than five times since last summer and waiting until filming had finished for the day to attempt to persuade him.
Buyers from Lotte Department Store’s Gwangbok Branch in Busan ran back and forth through Jagalchi Market, the largest marine product market in the country, to sell fish through a live broadcast.
A buyer from Shinsegae Department Store who has more than 20 years of experience in purchasing livestock products recently acquired a license to directly participate in the bidding.
The change in the attitude of the once hard-nosed buyers came after the status of department stores has weakened due to the rapid growth of the online shopping market.
As e-commerce operators are dealing with an increasing number of premium products, the conventional perception that e-commerce platforms sell cheap and popular items while department stores sell expensive and premium products no longer holds.
Ashley Song (ashley@koreabizwire.com)
