Shinsegae / Emart

During my years at Shinsegae / Emart, Korean retail was moving beyond the traditional big-box model.

The opportunity was not simply to open more stores, but to create new reasons for people to visit, browse and spend time — by turning retail concepts into brands with their own identity, culture and experience.

As part of Emart’s Brand Strategy organization, I worked on the creation and development of new retail and lifestyle brands across strategy, concept, naming, identity, communication and consumer experience.

My main projects included Peacock, Howdy, Toy Kingdom, Babycircle, Electromart and Pierrot Shopping, working with business, MD, design, space and external creative partners.

The organization itself worked across brand strategy, naming, identity, packaging, space, content and MD — an unusually integrated approach to retail brand building.

We treated branding as part of defining the business, rather than something added after the retail format had already been decided.

Each brand started from a different consumer role. Peacock helped turn private-label food into something consumers could actively choose as a brand. Howdy combined commerce and editorial curation around a distinctive view of men’s lifestyle. Toy Kingdom turned toy retail into a story-led destination, extending the concept into characters, space and play experiences. Babycircle approached parenting retail through a more curated specialist experience. Electromart reframed electronics retail around entertainment and lifestyle.

Pierrot Shopping went in almost the opposite direction — making chaos, discovery and humour part of the proposition rather than optimizing everything for efficiency. Its branding extended from naming and characters to VMD, space and communication.

Different businesses, but a similar principle: the brand idea had to be visible in the experience itself.

The work contributed to Shinsegae / Emart’s broader move from operating retail formats toward building a portfolio of differentiated consumer brands and specialty concepts.

For me, the period was also an important transition.

My work moved from managing and communicating brands toward helping create the businesses, spaces and experiences that brands would eventually represent.