Abstract
AbstractIn South Korea, rising resistance has slowed the advance of global retailer Tesco to the advantage of traditional shopping locations. In 2013, Tesco claimed that retrospectively‐applied Korean Sunday trading regulations reduced its trading there by 8 per cent. We utilised secondary sources and also conducted an empirical survey of 1,092 consumers in 22 Korean cities to assess reactions to this regulatory change and found evidence of spatial switching back to traditional locations. Our Korean respondents supported the new Sunday trading restraint. Such an outcome would not be expected in those Western countries where further liberalisation is still promoted. Also, the poor trading figures announced by Tesco‐Homeplus in 2013 imply that Homeplus never fully adjusted to the Korean market. Issues of society and culture continue to challenge commercial innovations: with spatial implications.
Highlights
In most advanced economies the food retail sector is a major employer but is diverse and usually complex
Unlike Wal-Mart and Carrefour, which withdrew from the Korean market, Homeplus improved its internal competitiveness and achieved rapid growth
Our survey analysed what Korean consumers thought of mandatory Sunday closures and found culturally-influenced opinions and growing consumer awareness that, despite its Samsung links, Tesco was not authentically Korean in nature
Summary
In most advanced economies the food retail sector is a major employer but is diverse and usually complex. We interviewed consumers who had visited large discount stores such as Tesco Homeplus in South Korea. Our intention was to outline how local resistance to Tesco later grew once Homeplus had become a power in Korean retailing.
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