By Lee Ji-yoon
Homeplus, the nation’s No. 2 supermarket chain, said Tuesday it has launched a team responsible for shared growth with its business partners.
The team was organized in April to better support transactions of small and medium-sized suppliers and improve contract conditions, the company said.
Homeplus started as a joint venture between Samsung Group and Tesco in 1999. Currently, the U.K-based retail giant holds almost 95 percent of company shares.
As part of the shared-growth policy, the company has already offered financial support and consultations on product quality and hygiene control to its suppliers.
The company has also introduced its “own-brand” products made in collaboration with smaller businesses to overseas stores of Tesco.
In the case of Kkoh Shaem Foods, its honey products with Homeplus’ own-brand have seen a tenfold surge in sales from 2 billion to 20 billion over the past 12 years, the company said.
The products are also sold in 67 Tesco stores in China.
The company said it would step up efforts to expand the sales channels of small and medium-sized companies through overseas branches of Tesco.
All the shared-growth achievements will also be considered in the performance evaluation of top executives, the company said.
“Suppliers are our important customers who should be respected,” said Homeplus CEO Lee Seung-han.
“By offering ‘customized services’ considering their individual conditions, we will seek to give companies real benefits and further grow with us.”
(jylee@heraldcorp.com)