E-Mart Inc., South Korea’s largest retailer and a Shinsegae Group company, embarked on streamlining its brick-and-mortar outlets for the first time in 24 years that had been mostly devoted to expansion to invest in e-commerce and logistics.

E-Mart in a board meeting on Thursday decided to sell money-losing outlets and reserve properties for new openings. The reserve lot for E-Mart Hanam in the city of Gyeonggi Province will be sold to its affiliate Shinsegae Engineering & Construction Co. at 56 billion won ($49.1 million). The site will be refurbished to house residential and commercial buildings instead. Another plot in reserved for the second outlet in Pyeongtaek City, Gyeonggi Province, will also be put up for sale. Proceeds will be channeled into other promising businesses like e-commerce and warehouse.

Separately, E-Mart has initiated administrative process to close a store in Hakseong-dong, Ulsan in South Gyeongsang Province. The site instead would be used to build rental apartments.

By Sohn Il-seon

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