Electro Mart opens first stand-alone shop

Discount retail giant E-mart’s electronics store Electro Mart is set to open its first stand-alone outlet, according to the company Monday.

Electro Mart’s fourth store in Pangyo is located on the first floor of Alpharium Tower in Pangyo Techno Valley in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. It is E-mart’s first specialized store outside of existing E-mart and Shinsegae branches, and will open Tuesday.

Designed to be an experience-focused store, the branch includes various product testing opportunities as well as select products for men including fashion and beauty products, accessories, sports equipment and alcoholic beverages.

Highlights of the store include a drone experience zone, which can also be found at Electro Mart’s KINTEX branch in Ilsan, and a racing circuit where customers can try racing remote control cars.

The company said that it chose Electro Mart to be its first stand-alone specialized store because of consumers’ preference to see and experience electronics before purchase, as well as their concerns about buying electronics from legitimate sellers.

Compared to other products, electronics have a higher tendency to be purchased off-line, E-mart said.

E-mart hopes to have 10 Electro Mart outlets by the end of the year, reaching total annual sales of over 200 billion won ($175.6 million).

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)