Published : Sept. 19, 2016 - 15:58
Korea’s largest shopping mall multiplex Starfield has attracted over 1.5 million visitors in the first 10 days of its opening, due to the long Chuseok holiday, its operator Shinsegae said Monday.
“Starfield had a greater turn out than anticipated thanks to the various promotions we ran before the opening, such as television commercials staring famous celebrities and messages sent out to important clients,” a spokesman for Shinsegae said.
Korea’s biggest shopping mall complex Starfield is crowded with visitors on Sept. 10, the first weekend after its official opening. (Yonhap)
Some 240,000 shoppers also visited the venue before its official opening, the company said.
However, some visitors have complained about the lack of parking space and the traffic jam on roads leading to the parking lot.
“Our family was literally stuck in the car for more than an hour just to get into the parking lot,” said a visitor surnamed Kim from Seoul.
“I understand that Starfield offered an alternative, which was no help,” he said, adding that the mall offered free Starbucks drinks to people who parked at a temporary parking lot and took a shuttle bus to the mall.
A Shinsegae Group official said the company will take further action to deal with the parking situation after observing traffic flow for the next two to three weeks.
Starfield Hanam, located some 20 kilometers east of Seoul, is Shinsegae’s latest push to boost its sluggish retail sales.
The mall consists of four basement levels and four stories above ground, making up 459,498 square meters.
Korea’s leading retail conglomerate Shinsegae Group invested 1 trillion won ($894 million) to build the 51:49 joint venture by its real estate development unit Shinsegae Property and Taubman Asia and Partners.
Meanwhile, Lotte World Mall and Tower in southeastern Seoul attracted a total of 353,000 visitors over the Chuseok holiday from Sept. 14 to Sept. 16, according to data confirmed by Lotte Corporation. During the same period, Starfield posted 469,000 shoppers, Shinsegae said.
By Kim Bo-gyung (
lisakim425@heraldcorp.com)