Case Study on the "Clicks and Mortar" Strategies of the Three Major Department Stores in Korea

백화점 3사의 온-오프라인 통합전략 사례 연구

As the dot-com companies realize the importance of the traditional business operations such as product distribution and sourcing, the task of balancing business strategy and operations between electronic commerce and"bricks St mortar"channels is an ongoing challenge. However, there are no generic recipes for formulating business strategy that optimally bridges the physical and virtual operations. In order to provide some guidelines, this study examines the big 3 retailers in Korea, and their"clicks ＆ mortar"strategy, assessing how the activities of each channel are integrated to achieve the synergy effect. This study analyzes the differences in the pattern of integration among the three retailers and traces the causes of those differences. It also figures out the relationship between the degree of integration and performance variables such as growth and cost. Finally. it defines the essential constraints on the process of integration along with managerial implications.