[Apparel News, Reporter Kyungcheon Oh] Shinhan Korea (CEO Hancheol Kim) is aggressively proceeding with the closure of underperforming stores for the efficiency enhancement of 'JDX' distribution.

As of the end of last year, the number of 'JDX' stores decreased by 20 to 250 from 270 the previous year. Considering about 30 new openings, around 50 stores closed their doors.

This year, another 50 to 60 stores are expected to be closed. The target is stores with annual sales of less than 300 million won. Plans include adding 20 to 30 new stores by the end of the year, focusing on securing high-efficiency stores with annual sales of 1 to 1.5 billion won.

Last year, there were a total of 13 stores that achieved sales of over 1 billion won, an increase of 3 from the previous year. The number of stores in the mid-high range with sales of 700 to 900 million won increased by 7 to 25 from the previous year.

Representative stores with annual sales of over 1 billion won include Suwon Outlet, Gasan Branch, Jeju South Branch, Yeongdeungpo Branch, Jongno Branch, Gangdong Station Branch, Ansan Han Dae Branch, and Munjeong Branch.

Among them, Suwon Outlet recorded sales of 3.3 billion won, Gasan Branch 2.3 billion won, Jeju South Branch 1.8 billion won, Yeongdeungpo Branch 1.6 billion won, and Jongno Branch 1.5 billion won. Particularly, Gasan Branch and Jeju Branch saw sales increase by 34% and 21%, respectively, compared to the previous year.

As a result, sales per store have also increased significantly. The average sales of 250 stores last year increased by 16% to 470 million won. This year, the plan is to further improve by over 15% to reach around 500 million won.

To enhance sales per store, aggressive inventory supply is also being pursued. Despite the plan to reduce the number of stores last year, the inventory was increased by about 10% from the previous year, and this year, plans are in place to further increase the supply.

Hyuntae Lee, head of 'JDX' sales, stated, "We have been focusing on improving distribution efficiency for the past two years, and as a result, not only sales but also the profit structure has significantly improved." He added, "We plan to complete channel optimization by the end of this year."

'JDX' recorded sales of 130 billion won last year and aims for 135 billion won this year. The number of stores is planned to be reduced from 250 at the end of last year to 220 this year.

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