Mid-Sized Retailers

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Medium-sized retailers like Daiso are growing exponentially recently, triggering protests from small entrepreneurs and businesses for encroaching on their commercial areas. The conflict is being exacerbated by the fact that mid-sized retailers are not subject to regulations.

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The owner of this stationery shop has leased part of her store to a pharmacy and a florist shop and laid off half of her employees. She had to do this to minimize costs, as her shop's sales have plummeted 30 percent since a Daiso store opened nearby.

[Soundbite] Han Eun-sook(Stationery Shop Owner) : "I can't win the price competition. It's going to get worse. I'm not sure if I should keep doing this."

With 92 percent of stationery shops sustaining damages, talks are underway to find ways for coexistence. Owners of tool shops have been staging one-person rallies in front of a large industrial materials store that is to open this month. The store will be run by the largest ready-mixed concrete corporation in the nation. The Ministry of SMEs and Startups has advised that the project be suspended for now.

[Soundbite] (Retail Sector Insider) : "The talks do not take into account consumers' shopping convenience and other positive outcomes."

The home furnishing giant IKEA as well as pharmaceutical and cosmetics stores are embroiled in similar conflicts. Small entrepreneurs are keen to protect their survival rights, while businesses emphasize consumers' rights to choose. Some call for macro-solutions that transcend the law and regulations.

[Soundbite] Prof. Oh Se-jo(Yonsei Univ.) : "Amazon.com has sparked a business revolution worldwide. Small vendors need help in improving infrastructure and strengthening their competitiveness through joint logistics."

Experts say that coexistence should begin with conducting a detailed survey of the situation that all interested parties can trust.