Korea's Discount Store Retail Sales Index Posts Record Q2 Decline Amid Homeplus Disruption
Key Takeaways
- •Korea's discount store retail sales index declined 9.4 percent year-on-year to 77.8 points in Q2 2026, the steepest drop since the ministry began compiling the data in 2010.
- •Homeplus had closed 37 of its 104 offline stores by June 2026 due to a lack of operating capital and growing operational challenges.
- •The Seoul Bankruptcy Court reversed its decision to terminate Homeplus's rehabilitation proceedings after its largest creditor, Meritz Financial Group, agreed to provide the financing needed for continued operations.
- •Homeplus, formerly Tesco's Korean unit acquired by MBK Partners in 2015, has been under mounting competitive pressure from e-commerce platforms such as Coupang that have shifted consumer shopping habits away from physical discount stores.
- •Homeplus is one of South Korea's traditional Big 3 discount retailers, alongside E-Mart and Lotte Mart.
Korea's retail sales index for discount store chains recorded its steepest year-on-year decline on record in the second quarter of 2026, driven in large part by the closure and suspension of operations at Homeplus outlets as the discount retailer navigated a corporate rehabilitation process, according to government data released Sunday.
The retail sales index at Korea's discount store chains stood at 77.8 points during the April–June period, representing a 9.4 percent decline compared with the same three months in 2025, according to figures released by the Ministry of Data and Statistics. The drop marked the sharpest contraction since the ministry began compiling such statistics in 2010.
The ministry attributed the significant decline largely to the massive closures of Homeplus stores. As of June, the discount store chain had shuttered 37 of its 104 offline outlets, citing a lack of operating capital and mounting difficulties in sustaining store operations.
Homeplus, one of South Korea's major discount retail chains and part of the country's traditional "Big 3" discount store sector alongside Shinsegae's E-Mart and Lotte Mart, has been undergoing a corporate rehabilitation process—a court-supervised restructuring procedure similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States—after facing severe financial distress. The company, formerly Tesco's Korean arm before its 2015 acquisition by MBK Partners, has faced intensifying competitive pressure from e-commerce platforms such as Coupang that have reshaped consumer habits and eroded foot traffic at brick-and-mortar discount chains in recent years.
In early July, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court moved to terminate rehabilitation proceedings for the troubled retailer. Homeplus subsequently suspended operations at its remaining 67 stores on July 13.
However, the company later reopened those stores after the bankruptcy court rescinded its earlier decision to end the rehabilitation proceedings. The reversal came after Homeplus's largest creditor, Meritz Financial Group, agreed to provide the necessary financing to support the company's continued operations.
Source: The Korea Times
