WITH the likes of CU outlets (brought in by MyNews) sprouting across Malaysia and GS 25 (in partnership with KK Mart) coming in soon, the South Korean convenience store space in Malaysia is only getting more heated.
But with more competition, it will be easier to change customer behaviours, which ultimately will increase the pie for everyone, said emart24 chief executive officer Vuitton Pang.
"In the past, customers perceived convenience stores only as a place to get emergency supplies. However, when they travel overseas, for instance, to South Korea or Japan, the first port of call would be the convenience store to stock up on food supplies.
"Customers don't associate convenience stores with food currently but that thinking is slowly changing. The increase in frequency of visits will also help to fuel the growth of the convenience store industry.
"To stay ahead, we need to be able to create excitement through product innovation, focus on providing quality of service and deliver convenience to our customers."
It has been a year since emart24, one of South Korea's most popular convenience store chains, landed in Kuala Lumpur with the opening of its first outlet in Bangsar South in June.
Pang, from the Pang family that built the Mamee-Double Decker empire, had stepped out of his comfort zone to venture into uncharted waters when he signed a master franchise agreement with South Korean retailer Shinsegae Group to open the first emart24 convenience store franchise outside South Korea.
The Shinsegae Group and Pang had forged a strong friendship while he was still a director at Mamee-Double Decker.
After 12 years of working in the family business, Pang felt he was ready to embark on his own path, which was to start the emart24 chapter.
"The biggest challenge is to operate a convenience store with a startup mentality. Traditionally, convenience stores are operated by large conglomerates with deep pockets as this is a capital expenditure-intensive business. We were not able to leverage huge resources on manpower, production facilities and funds.
"Instead, we had to establish strong relationships with third party suppliers, hire from scratch and seek external funding," said Pang, adding that he was fortunate that private equity investor Karrin Associates shared his sentiment about the venture and injected funding into it.
The startup mentality, however, presented Pang with an advantage as it allowed the company to be nimble and adapt a lot quicker to ever-changing trends.
Emart is a major retailer in South Korea with a wide array of formats within its portfolio. However, Pang believes that small format retail is the way to go for emart24.
It currently has 23 stores within the Klang Valley, with 20 being general stores and the remaining reserve stores, like the one in Bangsar South.
Reserve stores are different from general stores as they have larger spaces and customised decors. Each reserve store has its own unique look and feel, and will blend in with the location.
Pang said Korean culture, or Hallyu, swept across Asia like a hurricane, and Malaysians who enjoyed K-Pop and K-dramas would be missing out if they were not able to fully access Korean food.
"My contribution would be to make Korean street food more accessible to the majority of Malaysians by keeping the taste authentic, the price reasonable and most importantly, Muslim-friendly.
"If we were to copy-paste everything from Korea, it wouldn't have worked. Luckily, the principal gave us the autonomy to localise the experience for consumers and we have a halal menu to cater to our Muslim customers.
"I believe a successful convenience store is one that truly understand its customers' needs and is able to fulfil those needs. The key is to be a part of our customers' daily lives, providing ultimate convenience to our customers," he said.
"Today, however, with more competition, products sold in convenience stores are priced more competitively. At emart24, we pride ourselves on supporting local small and medium enterprises and giving them the opportunity to introduce their products at our stores for free."
On whether he has a personal mantra, Pang said he always believed that one should always be humble and to treat others with respect.
"It's a virtue that has been passed down by my grandfather and father. These are the two people whom I look up to and respect the most," he said.
"I would encourage young entrepreneurs to get out of their comfort zone. If you do not challenge yourself, you may never know what you're capable of. Be humble and don't assume you know everything." he added.
The writer was a journalist with the New Straits Times before joining a Fortune Global 500 real estate company. This article is a collaboration between the New Straits Times and Tradeview, the author of 'Once Upon A Time In Bursa'.