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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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 Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 8:22 am Post subject: Re: Emart are really stepping up their foreign food sections |
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| pkang0202 wrote: |
| northway wrote: |
| When Korean supermarkets are routinely selling out of something, they just fill the shelf space with other stuff and wait until they get a new shipment. I really don't understand. |
Lets say Emart's in a certain district are running low on Tabasco Sauce. They will then place an order. The order will be shipped from US distributor by boat.
The boat takes about 1-2 months to get to Korea.
For the Foreign foods, its really hard to setup a system to track the sales and have it "predict" when a certain product goes out of stock so they can place an order ahead of time. Give it a couple years when the stores have more historical data to rely on. The US stores have decades of data so they know pretty accurately when to order. |
Two things:
First of all, if each individual EMart is purchasing directly from abroad on its own, then Shinsegae is the worst run company on Earth. Moreover, if you're statement we're true, it would take months for said items to be restocked, not three days. I'm sure their imports are centrally controlled.
Secondly, this doesn't strictly apply to foreign goods. Things like plain yogurt routinely sell out for days at a time in my local EMart.
Korea is a tiny country. There is no reason for an inconsistent supply of goods. |
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alongway
Joined: 02 Jan 2012
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| Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 4:03 pm Post subject: |
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| fezmond wrote: |
do they sell hamburgers?
i've yet to find some decent hamburger patties or buns outside high street market. even then, 20,000 for 10 is a bit much. |
They've had ground beef forever.
| Quote: |
| Korea is a tiny country. There is no reason for an inconsistent supply of goods. |
That is the reason.
They also don't have any direct shipping methods like long haul trucking as you see in NA.
Their foreign foods are handled differently. If you try to order any of them off the Emart website as part of your grocery order, they're put in a separate category and you're told it costs an extra 2,500 to send those separately and they're coming from an independent delivery service and it'll take 2-3 days rather than your order the next day
I don't think they keep their import food in a central warehouse, I think they're buying it from a third party. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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| alongway wrote: |
| fezmond wrote: |
do they sell hamburgers?
i've yet to find some decent hamburger patties or buns outside high street market. even then, 20,000 for 10 is a bit much. |
They've had ground beef forever.
| Quote: |
| Korea is a tiny country. There is no reason for an inconsistent supply of goods. |
That is the reason.
They also don't have any direct shipping methods like long haul trucking as you see in NA.
Their foreign foods are handled differently. If you try to order any of them off the Emart website as part of your grocery order, they're put in a separate category and you're told it costs an extra 2,500 to send those separately and they're coming from an independent delivery service and it'll take 2-3 days rather than your order the next day
I don't think they keep their import food in a central warehouse, I think they're buying it from a third party. |
But again, this doesn't apply strictly to foreign goods. Various meat, produce, and dairy items will be available one day and unavailable the next (as I jointed out before).
As for long haul trucking, I don't see how that applies to branches in Seoul and Gyeonggi. |
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wylies99
Joined: 13 May 2006
Location: I'm one cool cat!
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| Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 6:54 pm Post subject: |
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| Kimchifart wrote: |
| northway wrote: |
| Cue the conspiracy theorists claiming that it's all a plot to put Costco out of business so they can revert to strictly Korean products. |
I don't think many would argue this isn't a result of the FTA with Europe and the States. A lot more Euro brands. Cracking! |
Homeplus is a Tesco company, right? |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 7:13 pm Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
| alongway wrote: |
| fezmond wrote: |
do they sell hamburgers?
i've yet to find some decent hamburger patties or buns outside high street market. even then, 20,000 for 10 is a bit much. |
They've had ground beef forever.
| Quote: |
| Korea is a tiny country. There is no reason for an inconsistent supply of goods. |
That is the reason.
They also don't have any direct shipping methods like long haul trucking as you see in NA.
Their foreign foods are handled differently. If you try to order any of them off the Emart website as part of your grocery order, they're put in a separate category and you're told it costs an extra 2,500 to send those separately and they're coming from an independent delivery service and it'll take 2-3 days rather than your order the next day
I don't think they keep their import food in a central warehouse, I think they're buying it from a third party. |
But again, this doesn't apply strictly to foreign goods. Various meat, produce, and dairy items will be available one day and unavailable the next (as I jointed out before).
As for long haul trucking, I don't see how that applies to branches in Seoul and Gyeonggi. |
There could a ton of different reasons why its not on the shelves 24/7 all the time.
You guys talk like nothing was ever out of stock back in your home countries. |
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alongway
Joined: 02 Jan 2012
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| Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2012 10:22 pm Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
| alongway wrote: |
| fezmond wrote: |
do they sell hamburgers?
i've yet to find some decent hamburger patties or buns outside high street market. even then, 20,000 for 10 is a bit much. |
They've had ground beef forever.
| Quote: |
| Korea is a tiny country. There is no reason for an inconsistent supply of goods. |
That is the reason.
They also don't have any direct shipping methods like long haul trucking as you see in NA.
Their foreign foods are handled differently. If you try to order any of them off the Emart website as part of your grocery order, they're put in a separate category and you're told it costs an extra 2,500 to send those separately and they're coming from an independent delivery service and it'll take 2-3 days rather than your order the next day
I don't think they keep their import food in a central warehouse, I think they're buying it from a third party. |
But again, this doesn't apply strictly to foreign goods. Various meat, produce, and dairy items will be available one day and unavailable the next (as I jointed out before).
As for long haul trucking, I don't see how that applies to branches in Seoul and Gyeonggi. |
I'm referring to how products are moved around north america through land routes that don't take a huge amount of time.
Where is Korea only has long shipping times for things. Usually by sea which takes weeks.
In North America if a warehouse runs out, they could put together dispatch and received a whole new shipment in less than 2-3 days.
They get shipments very close together. It is much easier to be agile with your stock in that situation. Here, if they have a stock issue with an import product it could take weeks to correct. |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 12:36 am Post subject: |
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| alongway wrote: |
I'm referring to how products are moved around north america through land routes that don't take a huge amount of time.
Where is Korea only has long shipping times for things. Usually by sea which takes weeks.
In North America if a warehouse runs out, they could put together dispatch and received a whole new shipment in less than 2-3 days.
They get shipments very close together. It is much easier to be agile with your stock in that situation. Here, if they have a stock issue with an import product it could take weeks to correct. |
AND for domestic products, it doesn't make sense for, lets say Seoul Milk, to make deliveries every single day. Usually they will deliver twice a week (Mon and Thurs. for example).
Its the same way back in yoru home country. The grocery stores don't get stocked every day. Different products come in on different days. Sometimes stuff runs out and they have to wait until the next resupply to restock the shelves.
In Seoul you see it(out of stock items) more often because of the sheer number of people that shop. |
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matthews_world
Joined: 15 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 2:33 am Post subject: |
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It's just my observation but a few of the other FTAs have protectionist measures included in them as not to affect the economics of the country on down to small mom and pop farmers.
For example, I see Chilean grapes here at my non-Seoul/Kyunggi suburbian town only when grapes harvested in Korea are out of season.
This is advantageous as cold Korean winters often inhibit the supply of regional produce and increase the prices.
Also, some countries won't ship specific produce here if there is already a Korean equivalent.
Let's don't get started on the fickleness of the Korean diets who usually won't substitute or be quick to add new items they aren't used to in their pantries. For this fact, many of the new imported items won't and don't usually sell well here.
Last edited by matthews_world on Mon Apr 02, 2012 1:54 pm; edited 2 times in total |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 4:40 am Post subject: |
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| pkang0202 wrote: |
In Seoul you see it(out of stock items) more often because of the sheer number of people that shop. |
It's not like you can't plan for this.[/b] |
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Steelrails
Joined: 12 Mar 2009
Location: Earth, Solar System
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| Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 2:05 pm Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
| pkang0202 wrote: |
In Seoul you see it(out of stock items) more often because of the sheer number of people that shop. |
It's not like you can't plan for this.[/b] |
It's probably electronically counted and automatically ordered, just like every corporate run business around the world does. The computer decides. That's why things that usually see consistent purchase are almost always in stock, and things like niche groceries can sometimes be sold out. BUT there can be rushes or unexpected numbers of people.
It's better to have to little of a product than to have too much and have it go out as waste.
Also, the sheer size of the market relative to the amount of food that can be produced means that you will probably have a more inconsistent supply and that orders may be more rigid in quantity and timing. That and Korea is essentially an island from a trade point of view. EVERYTHING must come in from air or sea.
Yes, I know that when your imported olives run out, they should have them flown in on next day air and still have the product cost the same as back home (not that they should ever be sold out, your niche foreign product should be priority #1!), but sadly that's not the case.
And don't forget unlike staples which are bought daily, these foreign products may sit on the shelves for weeks on end until one day someone happens by (possibly with friends), and suddenly buys up the entire stock, with no consistency or pattern. That's bad for store tracking.
Last edited by Steelrails on Sun Apr 01, 2012 5:57 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 4:09 pm Post subject: Re: Emart are really stepping up their foreign food sections |
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| northway wrote: |
| Adventurer wrote: |
| Kimchifart wrote: |
Anyone else noticed?
Some amazing stuff at Emart lately, not just the usual cheap American tinned food, but real quality stuff...Now if they could just stock real bread it would be a home run. |
There is some decent bread at Home Plus if you can get there in time. |
And herein lies one of the biggest differences between Korean and Western supermarkets: when Western supermarkets are routinely selling out of something, they make sure to buy more to assure that they always have some on the shelf. When Korean supermarkets are routinely selling out of something, they just fill the shelf space with other stuff and wait until they get a new shipment. I really don't understand. |
It's called protectionism, which breeds ineffeciency. Wal mart got it's clock cleaned because it wasn't ready for the Korean market and Koreans weren't ready for it. But, if they came back now, I think they would do well. Nationalism played a part too. But as Koreans go abroad and more foriegn things trickle in, I suspect Wal Mart would do better here now.
For the record, I actually have a love hate relationship with them and am in no ways an actual Wal Mart booster. But, I do like cheaper prices and their efficient computerized inventory systems which actually keeps the shelves stocked because it's linked with their suppliers. |
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pkang0202
Joined: 09 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Sun Apr 01, 2012 4:27 pm Post subject: |
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| northway wrote: |
| pkang0202 wrote: |
In Seoul you see it(out of stock items) more often because of the sheer number of people that shop. |
It's not like you can't plan for this.[/b] |
Where would they keep ALL that extra inventory? Before all the items go out of stock, the replacement products have to sit somewhere. You do realize that grocery stores have limited space in the back of the store for goods.
If they run out of Sour Cream, and the last couple times you've gone its been sold out, go tell the merchandiser. Hell, tell they guy you shop every Sunday and to keep an extra one in the back for you. |
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atwood
Joined: 26 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 3:02 am Post subject: |
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| Rule of thumb: If you see something you like, buy a lot of it because it might not be there the next time. |
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schwa
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Yap
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| Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 4:08 am Post subject: |
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| atwood wrote: |
| Rule of thumb: If you see something you like, buy a lot of it because it might not be there the next time. |
Thats one strategy, but if others do the same you shouldnt be surprised if something else you like happens to be suddenly out of stock. |
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northway
Joined: 05 Jul 2010
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| Posted: Mon Apr 02, 2012 6:02 am Post subject: |
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| Steelrails wrote: |
| northway wrote: |
| pkang0202 wrote: |
In Seoul you see it(out of stock items) more often because of the sheer number of people that shop. |
It's not like you can't plan for this.[/b] |
It's probably electronically counted and automatically ordered, just like every corporate run business around the world does. The computer decides. That's why things that usually see consistent purchase are almost always in stock, and things like niche groceries can sometimes be sold out. BUT there can be rushes or unexpected numbers of people.
It's better to have to little of a product than to have too much and have it go out as waste.
Also, the sheer size of the market relative to the amount of food that can be produced means that you will probably have a more inconsistent supply and that orders may be more rigid in quantity and timing. That and Korea is essentially an island from a trade point of view. EVERYTHING must come in from air or sea.
Yes, I know that when your imported olives run out, they should have them flown in on next day air and still have the product cost the same as back home (not that they should ever be sold out, your niche foreign product should be priority #1!), but sadly that's not the case.
And don't forget unlike staples which are bought daily, these foreign products may sit on the shelves for weeks on end until one day someone happens by (possibly with friends), and suddenly buys up the entire stock, with no consistency or pattern. That's bad for store tracking. |
Steelrails, read my posts: I'm not talking about imports (for the tenth time). I've been to EMart when they didn't have potatoes. Are potatoes a niche product? |
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