Exploring Busan Shinsegae Centum City

Busan is welcoming a massive addition to its urban landscape with the opening of Shinsegae Department Store Centum City in Udong, Haeundae-gu. Positioned directly alongside Lotte Department Store Centum City with just a ten-metre road separating them, this development transforms the local retail environment. Spanning basement level four up to floors nine through fourteen, the total floor area reaches 125,620 square metres, with roughly two-thirds dedicated strictly to the department store operations.

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Department Store Scale and Luxury Brands

The lower levels house an extensive lineup of high-end international labels. Floors one and two showcase 44 luxury brand options, including major names like Hermès, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel. Meanwhile, popular global names such as Nike, Polo, and Gap operate large-format mega-shops, each taking up over 330 square metres, or about 100 pyeong. Technology shoppers will find an iPod store occupying 231 square metres, equivalent to 70 pyeong. Down on the first basement level, a 4,900-pyeong food hall spans an area comparable to an independent department store.

Urban Entertainment and Leisure Facilities

This complex stems from the Centum City Downtown Entertainment Center project, initiated by Busan City in 2004 to create a large-scale shopping and leisure zone in Haeundae. Shinsegae planned a total investment of 1.025 trillion won across a 75,742-square-metre site, with this initial phase accounting for 600 billion won. Subsequent phases involving offices and recreational facilities are scheduled for sequential development through 2011.

Connected directly to the retail spaces are various leisure amenities designed for urban relaxation. Spanning floors one to three is Spa Land, an urban hot spring operated by Josun Hotel. It features 22 hot spring baths and saunas, 13 jjimjilbang rooms, an outdoor open-air bath exclusively for women, and a children's pool.

On the fourth floor, an ice rink accommodates up to 400 people. Floors five to nine house a CGV cinema and a Kyobo Book Centre, alongside a department store cultural centre, a children's English educational institute, art galleries, and a culture hall. The tenth floor hosts an exclusive fitness centre reserved for VIP and membership patrons, while the eleventh to fourteenth floors present an indoor golf range featuring the country's longest 90-yard setup. Shinsegae aims to position the venue as an Asian shopping and leisure landmark by attracting local residents, domestic travellers, and international visitors from regions like Japan.

Local Retail Competition in Haeundae

The arrival of Shinsegae has prompted nearby competitors to adjust their strategies. Lotte Department Store Centum City, located just ten metres away, plans to strengthen its luxury offerings by introducing additional high-end international brands like Etro, Burberry, and Dior Homme.

While Lotte's physical shopping scale remains smaller than Shinsegae's, the company coordinates marketing activities alongside other locations in Busan, including the main branch in Seomyeon and the Dongnae branch, with an additional Gwangbok branch opening at the end of the year. Lotte plans to issue joint customer coupons, run promotional events, and host customer invitation gatherings across four branches, leaning on local brand loyalty established through baseball support for the Lotte Giants.

Practical Tips

* Location: Udong, Haeundae-gu, Busan

* Key Facilities: Shinsegae Department Store, Spa Land (Floors 1-3), Ice Rink (Floor 4), CGV cinema, Kyobo Book Centre, indoor golf range (Floors 11-14)

* Nearby Competitor: Lotte Department Store Centum City (located 10 metres away)

Source

https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/3500047