Costco Wholesale Corp. (Getty Images)
Costco Wholesale Corp. (Getty Images)

Costco Wholesale Korea surpassed 7 trillion won ($4.7 billion) in annual revenue for the first time, overtaking the nation’s No. 2 hypermarket, Homeplus, amid the growing popularity of warehouse-style formats.

According to an audit report on Thursday, Costco Korea reported 7.32 trillion won in revenue for its latest fiscal year ending August, up 12.1 percent from a year earlier, while operating profit rose 16.5 percent to 254.5 billion won. Costco Korea has been on an upward revenue trajectory, climbing from 6.07 trillion won in 2023 to 6.53 trillion won in 2024.

The latest performance puts Costco ahead of Homeplus, which posted 6.99 trillion won in revenue for its fiscal year ending in February. Homeplus outpaced Costco by over 400 billion won in revenue just a year ago, but a rebound appears unlikely as the company remains under court-led rehabilitation amid ongoing liquidity challenges.

Costco’s rapid ascent mirrors a broader shift in Korea’s retail landscape, where warehouse-style formats are attracting increased store traffic.

E-Mart, Korea’s largest hypermarket operator, is also capitalizing on the warehouse retail boom through its Traders Wholesale Club chain. E-Mart currently operates 24 Traders locations nationwide, compared to Costco’s 20 stores.

In the third quarter, Traders surpassed the 1 trillion won mark in quarterly sales for the first time, while operating profit rose 11.6 percent to 39.5 billion won. Cumulative operating profit for the first three quarters reached 112.7 billion won, up 27.2 percent from the same period last year.

E-Mart noted that its focus on bulk, value-driven products, along with the strength of its private label T Standard, has helped Traders stand out amid inflationary pressures.

By contrast, E-Mart’s hypermarket division saw sales decline 3.4 percent to 2.97 trillion won, while operating profit dropped 20.9 percent to 54.8 billion won.


minmin@heraldcorp.com