Shinsegae’s vice chair on a roll with M&A

The company has recently bought an additional 17.5% stake in Starbucks Korea.

From eBay to Starbucks Coffee, Shinsegae Group Vice Chairman Chung Yong-jin’s aggressive mergers and acquisitions (M&As) strategy is attracting significant attention, Korea Bizwire reported.

E-Mart, a discount store chain under the group, bought an additional 17.5% stake in Starbucks Coffee Korea, paying $412m (KRW474.2b) to become the coffee chain’s largest shareholder.

The retail giant has also spent over $3.47b (KRW4t) on M&As this year, including the SK Wyverns of the Korea Baseball Organization, online fashion app W Concept, eBay Korea, and Starbucks Korea.

Chung said that he was intending to turn the pandemic crisis into an opportunity, noting that Shinsegae’s presence has been threatened as the company had focused primarily on offline shops such as discount shops and department stores.

In January, Chung asked the management staff during his New Year’s address to forget about the past motto of “fighting an unlosable fight,” but instead think about “achieving victory this year."