▲ Citizens purchase goods and check out at a Homeplus branch in Seoul on the 13th of last month, when 67 temporary closed Homeplus stores officially reopened.
While Homeplus is set to continue operations after receiving court approval for its rehabilitation plan, it still faces numerous hurdles before achieving a substantive operational normalization.
During the meeting of interested parties held at the Seoul Bankruptcy Court today (the 2nd), the Homeplus rehabilitation plan was approved following group-by-group voting.
The secured creditors group voted 100% in favor, the rehabilitation creditors group 75.9%, and shareholders 100%.
A key indicator for the court's judgment was how willingly suppliers who had not received payments for goods would agree to installment repayments. The approval of the rehabilitation plan was backed by the agreement rate surpassing 66% as of today.
Having escaped the funding crunch that persisted after the commencement of rehabilitation procedures, Homeplus is now entering the execution phase of its rehabilitation plan, which includes debt repayment and asset sales.
The core of the Homeplus rehabilitation plan is debt repayment through asset sales.
Homeplus's stance is to sell 19 of its self-owned stores among those closed by February 2028 to prioritize the repayment of 1.3 trillion won in senior collateral-backed trust bonds held by Meritz Financial Group.
Once these are repaid and the collateral held by Meritz is released, Homeplus plans to use 38 of its self-owned stores as collateral to secure real estate mortgage loans in February 2030 and February 2037 to repay other debts.
Whether the fundraising plan through store sales can be implemented as scheduled is expected to be the first gateway determining the success of Homeplus's turnaround.
The problem is that, due to the sluggish business environment for large supermarkets, major players like E-Mart and Lotte Mart are unlikely to jump into the acquisition bidding war for closed stores.
While ideas have been raised to develop and sell store sites into residential-commercial complexes, logistics centers, or offices, difficulties are expected until actual sales are achieved, considering the real estate market slump and the time required for development approvals.
Beyond immediate fundraising, normalizing transactions with suppliers and recovering sales are also urgent tasks.
Although Homeplus reopened 67 stores nationwide on the 13th of last month, it failed to secure sufficient inventory and could not even offer Chuseok gift sets.
Large supermarkets typically operate by receiving goods, selling them, and then paying for the goods using the sales proceeds. However, because Homeplus is paying for goods in advance, it is only receiving quantities that can be pre-funded within its operating capital.
How quickly supplier transactions can normalize and product variety can be restored following the approval of the rehabilitation plan are expected to be key factors in sales recovery.
Effectively responding to the upcoming Chuseok peak season is projected to be the first post-approval test.
Since resuming operations through the 30th of last month, Homeplus generated 116.4 billion won in sales over an 18-day period.
While sales have shown signs of recovery with the resumption of operations, it is difficult to consider them restored to normal operating levels given the limited product supply.
Although the approval of the rehabilitation plan could accelerate sales recovery if additional funds are secured and transactions with suppliers normalize, numerous mountains still lie ahead.
Offline competition with existing large supermarkets such as E-Mart and Lotte Mart, as well as the aggressive offensives of e-commerce companies including Coupang, continues.
Whether Homeplus, once a major player in the domestic large supermarket market, can go beyond operational normalization to draw customers back and restore its competitiveness in the market will be another deciding factor for its successful rehabilitation.
Ultimately, the approval of the rehabilitation plan is closer to a starting point for the normalization of Homeplus.
Fundraising through asset sales, the normalization of supplies, the recovery of product competitiveness, and sales growth must proceed as planned to gauge the success or failure of the rehabilitation.
A Homeplus official stated, "We will continue to prove our self-sustainability going forward," adding, "Ahead of the Chuseok peak season, we plan to hold events focused primarily on groceries to draw in customers."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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