Homeplus' comeback stalls as sales stay weak and buyer search stalls

Homeplus, the major South Korean hypermarket operator, resumed trading on August 13 after narrowly escaping liquidation and reopening all 67 of its remaining stores. Sales have been disappointing, with an opening-day figure of 10.63 billion won followed by an average of 8.7 billion won per day, and no prospective buyer has emerged to take over the business. In July, the Seoul Bankruptcy Court briefly terminated the court-led rehabilitation because the retailer failed to secure the mandated 200 billion-won of fresh funding for its restructuring plan.

Emergency financing from Meritz Financial Group, its largest creditor, allowed the proceedings to continue. Ongoing challenges include the decline of the hypermarket sector and a consumer shift toward online shopping, which have eroded Homeplus's market position. The uncertainty has also triggered a wave of voluntary resignations among staff, further hampering the recovery effort.