Emart24 temporarily suspended 3 of its stores, said its “working on something new”

SINGAPORE: South Korean convenience store Emart24 announced on Thursday (21 March) that it has temporarily suspended three of its stores in Singapore to prepare for improvements in its service to customers in the Asian country.

On 18 March, news of its closure first emerged through a Facebook post on the ‘Singapore Atrium Sale’ page.

The post included a photo depicting the locked and boarded-up storefront of its store at Nex shopping mall.

Subsequent investigations revealed that outlets at Margaret Market and Jurong Point shopping mall had also ceased operations, with Google listing both locations as “permanently closed.”

According to a report from the South Korean news agency Yonhap, Emart24 explained that its decision to suspend operations is due to the company “working on something new.”

“We have been making significant management decisions to reshuffle the outlets to better serve customers with some new and exciting offerings and concepts,” the statement read.

Emart24 also told its patrons, “We hope to see you really soon, so keep a lookout for where we might pop up,” indicating the possibility of a relaunch or rebranding.

Expressing optimism, the company emphasized its desire to resume operations in Singapore at the earliest opportunity.

Emart24’s arrival in Singapore was met with enthusiasm, with shoppers eagerly flocking to experience its offerings, including popular Korean street food items like Tteokbokki, corn dogs, and Korean fried chicken.

However, despite the initial excitement, the chain’s presence in Singapore proved short-lived.

Owned by South Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae, Emart24 boasts over 6,500 outlets in its home country.

Beyond South Korea, the chain expanded to Malaysia in 2020, where it currently operates 52 outlets. It also has plans to set up a Cambodia outlet in June.