• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.21-40
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• 2000

The retail trades in many countries have changed recently according to the high quality, diversification, and marked individuality of consumer needs. Under the continually competing system of the WTO agreement, corporations based in the USA and the EU try to raise their market share in other countries so it is inevitable for Korean retail enterprises to compete with them. This paper is aimed at contributing to the efficient growth for Korean retail trade from the analysis of the development process in retail trade and its changing locations comparing Korea and the USA. Retailers in the USA have practiced diversified marketing strategies considerably in order to survive in a rapidly changing retailing environment. American retailing, which has the most advanced marketing system in the world, has been of growing concern to marketing strategies in Korea. The following is a brief summary of this study. 1. Speedy and higher quality consumption is needed in accordance with the great increase in the single-family household and the female labor force participation both in Korea and in the USA. Senior citizens have become a new consumer group due to the aging population. In the future the retail trade will switch over to diversified retail formats and internet shopping as countries are transformed into information and communication societies. 2. In Korea, the former retail system characterized by markets and department stores has been greatly changed since the late 1980s with emphasis on high quality and convenience in consumption behaviors, with large domestic enterprises and foreign distribution corporations participating in Korean retailing. In the USA, retailing mergers and takeovers by major retails, bankruptcies, and extra-large shopping centers have emerged since the late 1980s. Recently, the USA retailing formats have been changed from the lower price-oriented discount types to the large scale theme parks. Much emphasis was put on entertainment, resorts, and convention centers. On the other hand, non-store types, such as the internet shopping, the CATV shopping, as well as catalog and mail-order sales are drastically increasing, although the proportion of their sales is low up to now. 3. In Korea, most of the retail facilities are concentrated in Seoul and the Metropolitan Region, and the distribution ratio of facilities came to 52% in 1997. The periodic markets, traditional markets which open on a periodic basis, are located mainly in Chollanam-do and Kyungsangbuk-do. The large-sized discount stores have expanded their locations to the over-crowded apartment complexes in new towns, located in the Metropolitan Region, and the large provincial cities, unlike the suburban locations in the USA. Therefore we needed to give attention to the locational relations in retail facilities between Seoul & the Metropolitan Region and rural settlement areas. In the USA, urban areas grew quickly with the development of the automobile in the 1920s, and the location of stores changed from a dispersed style centering around rural areas to a centralized one in urban areas. There is an accelerated growth for suburban areas, which have grown rapidly since 1950. As the membership warehouse clubs were introduced in the 1970s, the decentralization of location was more intensified. On the other hand, inner cities were revitalized by rearranging existing facilities to cope with suburban areas. And the location-free virtual retailing & TV shopping are also growing every year. 4. In view of the above, the continuous and desirable development devices in Korean retail trade are summarized as follows: First, the countermeasures against economies of scale, increase in retailing sales, and rise of a employment percentage in retailing are in need. Second, a scheme of lowering the proportion of food retail sales, and increasing a ratio of durable goods sales need to be worked out. Third, the original ideas are needed to apply positively information, communication and technology to retailing, to graft the traditional types on modem ones based on the social culture. Fourth, strategies are needed to strengthen the competitiveness of our retail trade through cooperation and chains of smaller retailers, the large enterprises participating in the distribution industry. Fifth, in order to realize the above, the retail industry, the administration, and the academic world should support the retail segment with concern and a practical strategy plan.

• Journal of Distribution Science
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.25-36
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• 2011

Owing to the rapid growth of hypermarket/discount store formats since 1996, Korean retailing has suddenly attracted the significant attention from researchers. Before the emergence of large scale retailers such as E-Mart, Lotte Mart and Tesco Korea, there were the two retail formats who led the Korean retailing in the modern retailing history: department store and supermarket formats. Nevertheless, there has been little literature concerned about the two retail formats as a case study, while some authors have paid their attention to hypermarket/discount store formats. In addition, when mentioning the development process of retailing history, it is less likely that authors have made an effort to illustrate supermarket retailing history. In order to regard supermarket retailing as part of the Korean retailing, it is interesting to look at a representative supermarket retailer, Haitai, who was one of the subsidiaries of Haitai chaebol. Based on supermarket retailing, the company which was established as a joint venture in 1974 led a supermarket retailing in the Korean modernised retailing history. Before analysing whether Haitai failed or not, the definition of failure should be illustrated. With regard to the term, failure, in the academic world, authors have interchangeably used the following terms: failure, divestment, closure, organisational restructuring, and exit. To collect research data as a case study, the author adopted an in-depth interview method. The research is based on research interviews with 13 ex-staff who left after Haitai went bankruptcy, from store management department to merchandise department. By investigating Haitai's experiences through field interviews, the research found that Haitai restructured organisational decision-making process at the early stage when companies started to modernise organisational charts, benchmarking sophisticated retailing knowledge through the strategic alliance with a Japanese retailer. In respect of buying system, the company established firmly buying functions by adopting central buying system, and further, outstandingly allocated considerable marketing resources to the development of retailer brands with the dedicated team of retailer brand development. In the grocery retailing, abandoning a 'no-frill' packaging concept, the introduction of retailer brand packaging equal to, or better than national brand packaging design, encouraged other retailers to change their retailer brand development strategies. In product sourcing ways, Haitai organised for the first time the overseas sourcing team with the aim of improving the profit margins of foreign products and providing exotic products for customers, followed by other retailers. Regarding distribution system, the company introduced the innovative idea which delivered products ordered by stores directly to each store withboth its own vehicles and its own warehouse in which could deal with dry foods, chilly foods, frozen food, and non-foods, and even, process produce. In addition, Haitai developed many promotional methods to attract more customers like 'the guarantee of the lowest price', and expanded its own business to US in 1996, although withdrew, because of bankruptcy in 1997. Together with POS introduction in 1994, Haitai made a significant contribution to the development of the Korean retailing, influencing other retailers in many aspects. As a case study, the study has provided a number of lessons from Haitai's experiences for academicians and practitioners, suggesting that its history should be involved in the Korean modernised retailing.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.223-237
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• 1996

The emergence of the cable television era has spawned the introduction of many new television programming formats such as all-news channels, movie channels, channels catering to cultural events, channels for women, and many others. One of the new programming formats that is expected to have interesting implications for marketing is the home shopping channel. As we have observed in other countries, this new form of distribution may potentially have a major impact on the traditional retail industry. This paper presents a model of home shopping channel viewing behavior. This model is then used to formulate optimal product presentation strategies that may aid managers in the design of home shopping programs. Specifically, by formulating a profit-maximization problem based on tile model, we derive the optimal length of product presentations and explore its properperties through simulating various situations. The discussion of these properties provide insights about making strategic decisions regarding product presentations.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.543-560
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• 2017

The aim of this paper is to find which types of pop-up store positively influence consumers and to analyze the factors that affect brand attitude and behavioral intention across different fashion pop-up store formats. The data was collected from 217 respondents in their 20s and 30s and then subjected to descriptive statistical analysis, oneway ANOVA and regression analysis using SPSS Statistics. The results of the oneway ANOVA test indicated that the 'Pop-up store of alliance with different kinds of industries' is the most effective type for increasing brand preference and brand recognition amongst consumers. Some further insights can be made from the regression analysis results. There are differences between pop-up store formats in terms of the cognitive factors influencing brand attitude and behavioral intention. Moreover, there are differences between pop-up store formats in terms of brand attitude factors influencing behavioral intention. Through the results of this study, fashion companies can determine the best type of pop-up store to open depending on their aims. In conclusion, this study provides valuable insights to fashion marketers, helping them to determine the appropriate factors to consider when planning fashion pop-up stores. Academically, this paper contributes to expanding the range of research on fashion pop-up retail by studying consumer experiences of different pop-up store types.

• Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.1-25
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• 2008

Ⅰ. Introduction Retailers in the 21st century are being told that future retailers are those who can execute seamless multi-channel access. The reason is that retailers should be where shoppers want them, when they want them anytime, anywhere and in multiple formats. Multi-channel access is considered one of the top 10 trends of all business in the next decade (Patricia T. Warrington, et al., 2007) And most firms use both direct and indirect channels in their markets. Given this trend, we need to evaluate a channel equity more systematically than before as this issue is expected to get more attention to consumers as well as to brand managers. Consumers are becoming very much confused concerning the choice of place where they shop for durable goods as there are at least 6-7 retail options. On the other hand, manufacturers have to deal with category killers, their dealers network, Internet shopping malls, and other avenue of distribution channels and they hope their retail channel behave like extensions of their own companies. They would like their products to be foremost in the retailer's mind-the first to be proposed and effectively communicated to potential customers. To enable this hope to come reality, they should know each channel's advantages and disadvantages from consumer perspectives. In addition, customer satisfaction is the key determinant of retail customer loyalty. However, there are only a few researches regarding the effects of shopping satisfaction and perceptions on consumers' channel choices and channels. The purpose of this study was to assess Korean consumers' channel choice and satisfaction towards channels they prefer to use in the case of electronic goods shopping. Korean electronic goods retail market is one of good example of multi-channel shopping environments. As the Korea retail market has been undergoing significant structural changes since it had opened to global retailers in 1996, new formats such as hypermarkets, Internet shopping malls and category killers have arrived for the last decade. Korean electronic goods shoppers have seven major channels : (1)category killers (2) hypermarket (3) manufacturer dealer shop (4) Internet shopping malls (5) department store (6) TV home-shopping (7) speciality shopping arcade. Korean retail sector has been modernized with amazing speed for the last decade. Overall summary of major retail channels is as follows: Hypermarket has been number 1 retailer type in sales volume from 2003 ; non-store retailing has been number 2 from 2007 ; department store is now number 3 ; small scale category killers are growing rapidly in the area of electronics and office products in particular. We try to evaluate each channel's equity using a consumer survey. The survey was done by telephone interview with 1000 housewife who lives nationwide. Sampling was done according to 2005 national census and average interview time was 10 to 15 minutes. Ⅱ. Research Summary We have found that seven major retail channels compete with each other within Korean consumers' minds in terms of price and service. Each channel seem to have its unique selling points. Department stores were perceived as the best electronic goods shopping destinations due to after service. Internet shopping malls were perceived as the convenient channel owing to price checking. Category killers and hypermarkets were more attractive in both price merits and location conveniences. On the other hand, manufacturers dealer networks were pulling customers mainly by location and after service. Category killers and hypermarkets were most beloved retail channel for Korean consumers. However category killers compete mainly with department stores and shopping arcades while hypermarkets tend to compete with Internet and TV home shopping channels. Regarding channel satisfaction, the top 3 channels were service-driven retailers: department stores (4.27); dealer shop (4.21); and Internet shopping malls (4.21). Speciality shopping arcade(3.98) were the least satisfied channels among Korean consumers. Ⅲ. Implications We try to identify the whole picture of multi-channel retail shopping environments and its implications in the context of Korean electronic goods. From manufacturers' perspectives, multi-channel may cause channel conflicts. Furthermore, inter-channel competition draws much more attention as hypermarkets and category killers have grown rapidly in recent years. At the same time, from consumers' perspectives, 'buy where' is becoming an important buying decision as it would decide the level of shopping satisfaction. We need to develop the concept of 'channel equity' to manage multi-channel distribution effectively. Firms should measure and monitor their prime channel equity in regular basis to maximize their channel potentials. Prototype channel equity positioning map has been developed as follows. We expect more studies to develop the concept of 'channel equity' in the future.

• Asia Marketing Journal
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.107-128
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• 2013

When Korea's retail industry was liberalized, new store formats such as large discount stores and Super Supermarket(SSMs) have grown. New types of business have borne significant influence on traditional market. Traditional markets have been in gradual decline since they fail to meet to consumer's purchasing behavior. The South Korean government has been making sustained efforts to revitalize the modernization of traditional markets since 2004. This research is conducted to analyze how changes in the distribution of different types of distributors influence the consumer's purchasing behaviors depending on the changes in the market environment. The purpose of this research is to present a policy to invigorate consumer-oriented traditional markets by analyzing the consumption behavior among major retail channels at a point when competition among retail channels is becoming intensified. In order to examine the effect of the spatial competitive landscape among major retail channels on consumption behavior, an empirical analysis was conducted with 613 consumers in 6 cities nationwide, using the multiple regression model. This research identified three main areas of factors. The analysis result indicates that the physical factor (time required to go to the traditional market), socioeconomic factors (the number of vehicles owned and average monthly income), and competitive factors (intensity of competition in spatial locations and average monthly spending in supermarkets) have significant influence on consumption patterns of consumers. The findings present that the Korean government should go ahead with policies aimed to revitalize traditional markets, keeping in mind the factors that influence the consumption patterns of customers based on these results. We propose that the policy supporting traditional markets need to be a customized-strategy, considering traditional market's characteristic.

• Journal of Distribution Research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.91-105
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• 2001

Wholesale club is one of the fastest expanding retailer formats. Given its key features such as limited assortment and no promotion policy, the current paper provides a theory on why the wholesale clubs charge their members fixed annual fees. In a competitive setting with supermarkets, the proposed model demonstrates that the membership fee is the optimal reaction of wholesale clubs to supermarkets" sales promotion. More specifically, the positive amount of annual fee is only justified under the condition that there exists consumer heterogeneity in consumption rate and when the supermarket exercises price promotion on the product that the wholesale club carries. This paper describes the competition in a stylized fashion and derives the optimal membership fee under a scenario where retail promotion is present. This study is valuable in that it offers a different explanation on wholesale club membership fee than conventional wisdoms such as cost sharing and that it provides insights to the managers who consider no-fee format.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.819-833
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• 2009

The current research focused on exploration of a well known Korean fashion and clothing industry cluster, Dongdaemun Fashion Town(DFT). Many clothing and fashion wholesalers in DFT with various business formats are trying to obtain competitive advantages. For the empirical study, a questionnaire was developed. Items measuring descriptive statistics for each business and contractor selection criteria were included in the survey. 161 data from Employees of various wholesalers of DFT were used for statistical analysis. Majority of DFT customers were buyers of Internet shopping malls and street retail shops. 64% of them used domestic contractors for sourcing products. Most of them managed less than three contractors. Contractor selection criteria were factorized as flexibility, production ability, stability, fame and location. Wholesalers were segmented into three groups: product oriented, flexibility oriented and stability oriented groups. Group differences in terms of business practices were assessed and strategic implications were included.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.774-792
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• 2024

Unlike traditional retail formats, the metaverse offers diverse shopping experiences, ranging from content that mimics reality to content that transcends reality based on its characteristic of virtuality. This study elaborates on the concept of virtuality within store environments and investigates how the virtuality level of a metaverse store influences consumers' creative consumption by mediating the flow experience. Additionally, it examines the interaction effect of creative product-seeking tendencies and individual characteristics on the relationship between flow experience and creative consumption behavior. A web-based experiment was conducted on young Korean female adults who experienced metaverse shopping. Ninety-one samples were analyzed using exploratory factor and bootstrap analyses with SPSS Macro process Models 4 and 14. The findings demonstrate that store virtuality (low vs. high) increases consumers' purchase intentions of creative fashion items by enhancing their flow toward the shopping experience. Furthermore, the effect of flow experience on creative consumption is strengthened when consumers have low creative product-seeking tendencies. This study contributes to expanding the concept of virtuality in virtual retailing and provides insights for fashion retailers planning to create virtual shopping spaces within the metaverse platform.

• Journal of Information Technology Services
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.29-49
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• 2022

Consumers are now no longer satisfied with using a single channel to shop and then desire a smooth and consistent purchasing experience across channels. By integrating different channels and services, an omni-channel strategy allows consumers to choose their preferred channel to complete their shopping tasks. Therefore, large retailers in China have recently been transforming into omni-channel retail formats to secure their competitive advantage. To better implement this strategy and optimize its effectiveness, it is important to understand how consumers respond to the quality of channel integration. Based on social exchange theory (SET), the main purposes of this study are to explore the impact of channel integration quality on consumer engagement in the Chinese omni-channel retailing environment and to further examine whether there is a moderating effect of consumer empowerment on this relationship. To test this research model, we collected data from 330 respondents by conducting an online questionnaire in China. The results indicated that the two dimensions of channel integration (breadth of channel-service choice and transparency of channel-service configuration) positively affected two dimensions of customer engagement (conscious attention and enthusiastic participation), respectively. The findings also show that consumer empowerment only positively moderates the relationship between breadth of channel service choice and conscious attention, whereas it negatively moderates the relationship between transparency of channel-service configuration and conscious attention/enthusiastic participation. Given these results, this study deepens our understanding of the impact of the quality of channel integration on customer engagement in the context of omni-channel retailing in China and sheds light on how retailers can attract consumers with different levels of empowerment.