Lotte Mall Suji in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province.(image: Lotte Asset Development Co.)
SEOUL, Sept. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — The retail industry, cornered by a low-price offensive from e-commerce businesses, is striking back with a so-called ‘malling’ strategy.
‘Malling’ refers to all leisure activities at the mall, including shopping, dining, and watching movies or experiencing other forms of entertainment.
Retail stores are focusing on children. The logic is that if they create a space where children can play, it will motivate parents to come and be more willing to spend money.
Lotte Mall Suji, which opened in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province on Thursday, features South Korea’s very first indoor ice rink inside a shopping mall.
The mall offers various leisure activities, including rock climbing, and 1,100-square-meter kids park.
Shinsegae Premium Outlet in Paju, which opened on Sunday following renovations, now has a 530-square-meter kids’ cafe and the region’s largest fashion zone for children.
Retail stores are also introducing a variety of attractions to draw in diverse groups of customers.
Starfield Bucheon has recently set up an academy for young mothers, offering programs for childcare as well as other courses for all adults on various hobbies and self-development.
Shinsegae Premium Outlet in Paju plans to come up with a more diverse set of interpretation services for foreigners. On top of Chinese and English, it plans to add Thai, Mongolian, and Filipino to attract more customers.
Parking space is another critical factor for retail stores as they want customers to spend time at malls without having to worry about parking or other traffic needs.
Lotte Mall Suji comes with a parking lot across basement floors 2 to 6 with a capacity to accommodate 1,700 cars.
Starfield Bucheon has a parking lot stretching from basement floor 5 to the 9th floor above ground, capable of accommodating as many as 1,900 cars.
Shinsegae Premium Outlet in Paju, located on the outskirts of the city that allows for a size much larger than Starfield Bucheon and Lotte Mall Suji, chose to focus on dining, doubling the number of restaurants to accommodate many popular cuisines.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
