How South Korean hypermarket chain’s fall reflects ‘time-poor’ consumer demands

Homeplus was once a retail haven for millions of South Korean families who shopped for groceries and household goods regularly at its cavernous hypermarkets. But that ritual over almost three decades ended this week when the company closed all its remaining 67 operating outlets nationwide after suspending 37 others earlier as part of its restructuring. The sudden closure of South Korea’s second-largest hypermarket chain reflects not only its financial distress, but also a decline of the shopp...

By David D. Lee