Emart spends $275 million on US grocery store business

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Emart spends $275 million on US grocery store business

Emart has bought U.S. grocery market giant Good Food Holdings for $275 million.

Emart announced Friday that it has acquired Good Food Holdings, the California-based holding company of upscale grocery chains Bristol Farms, Lazy Acres Market and Metropolitan Market. Good Food Holdings is Emart’s first foreign acquisition.

Bristol Farms is a premium market chain with 12 stores in neighborhoods across Los Angeles and San Diego. With stores in Hollywood and other trendy areas, the supermarket is popular with celebrities.

Metropolitan Market, based in Seattle, has seven stores and sells goods ranging from seafood to dishware. Lazy Acres also operates five stores across Los Angeles and San Diego with a focus on health supplements and beauty products.

Bristol Farms and Metropolitan Market also offer goods online, while Lazy Acres holds cooking classes for children and adults.

Currently, Good Food Holdings’ annual revenue records around 670 billion won ($598 million), with a total of 3,100 employees working for the company and its operations.

Emart promised that nothing will change after the acquisition.

“We are not planning to make any changes in the management of Good Food Holdings,” said an Emart spokesman. “Nothing in the operations of the three grocery chains will change in the immediate future.”

The Korean supermarket mogul has shown a keen interest in expanding its business into the United States in recent months.

In September, Emart said it would launch its high-end PK Market grocery store chain in downtown Los Angeles by the second half of 2019. It has already signed a 10-year contract on a 4,803-square-meter (52,000-square-feet) space in LA’s Jewelry District.

The acquisition of Good Food Holdings is expected to greatly ease Emart’s understanding of and expansion into the U.S. grocery scene. Bristol Farms, Lazy Acres and Metropolitan Market have all been in operation for over 20 years.


BY KIM EUN-JIN [kim.eunjin1@joongang.co.kr]
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