According to a survey, about 4 out of 10 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating inside large supermarkets reported a decrease in sales through those retail channels compared to the previous year.

The win-win cooperation measure most desired by the tenant companies was a reduction in sales commissions.

The Korea Federation of SMEs (KBIZ) announced the results of its "2026 Survey on Trade Practices of SMEs Operating in Large Offline Retailers," conducted on 900 SMEs from July to September.

The survey targeted 900 SMEs—100 for each retailer—operating in five department stores (Galleria, Lotte, Shinsegae, Hyundai, and AK Plaza) and four large supermarket chains (Lotte Mart, E-Mart, Hanaro Mart, and Homeplus).


According to the survey, 37.0% of companies responded that their sales via large supermarkets decreased compared to the previous year.

For clothing companies, the figure exceeded half at 53.1%.

Broken down by retailer, Homeplus tenants had the highest response rate for sales decline at 63.0%.

This was followed by Lotte Mart (31.0%), E-Mart (28.0%), and Hanaro Mart (26.0%).

Among department store tenants, 21.0% stated that their sales through department stores had decreased.

Of these companies, 57.1% cited changes in consumption trends, such as the growth of online shopping, and sluggish domestic demand as the main reasons.

When asked about the most desired areas for expanded win-win cooperation, 43.0% of department store tenants and 37.5% of large supermarket tenants chose commission reductions.

Respondents who felt that retailers' win-win cooperation programs were tangible stood at 36.2% for department stores and 29.5% for large supermarkets.

Meanwhile, 11.8% of companies answered that business conditions for entering large supermarkets had worsened.

Among the 47 companies that felt worsening business conditions, 53.2% pointed to increased sales commission rates or sales incentive ratios upon contract renewal as the reason.

(Photo provided by Korea Federation of SMEs, Yonhap News)