Homeplus has suspended operations at its stores nationwide since July 13, yet many tenants inside the stores are still continuing their business.
With the rehabilitation court deciding today, July 21, to proceed with the rehabilitation process for Homeplus, a sense of anticipation has emerged.
[Interview: (Has the atmosphere improved?) Customers are very happy. The atmosphere has completely changed. We were on the verge of leaving, but now we are not packing up our products.]
However, there is a significant difference in sentiment among suppliers who need to restock empty shelves ahead of the planned resumption of operations next month.
A clothing company CEO, identified by the surname Kim, is currently stuck with 1 billion won worth of clothing that was exclusively planned with Homeplus but could not be delivered.
[Interview: Homeplus Supplier Representative: These were products scheduled for release this summer.]
The company has also not received 600 million won in payments for supplies delivered in the first half of this year.
While the representative feels that Homeplus must normalize its operations for them to receive the outstanding payments, they are conflicted about whether it is safe to make additional deliveries.
[Interview: Homeplus Supplier Representative: There is almost no trust left, is there? They should at least pay a portion of the outstanding balance and ask us to deliver the products that were already manufactured specifically for Homeplus.]
The average unpaid balance for small and medium-sized suppliers to Homeplus is 774 million won.
How Homeplus, which is pushing for a resumption of operations, will restore the trust of its suppliers is an urgent task that must be addressed.
[Interview: Lee Jung-hee / Professor of Economics at Chung-Ang University: Because customers visit stores only when they have competitive products supplied to them, Homeplus must make commitments that can provide a sense of trust to suppliers and tenants for the stores to operate normally. Only when things are normalized can the sale process proceed more smoothly.]
The court plans to hold a meeting of interested parties as early as the end of next month to obtain consent from creditors and others regarding the revised rehabilitation plan.
Reported by Chae Heesun | Video by Kim Jong-tae | VJ: Jung Han-wook | Produced by SBS Digital News
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