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| Kim Hyo-joon BMW Korea CEO |
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| Dimitris Psillakis Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO |
Shinsegae has decided to allow BMW, not Mercedes-Benz, to open a showroom at its Starfield Goyang, the "shopping-themed entertainment park," north of Seoul, which is expected to attract tens of thousands of shoppers every day.
Mercedes-Benz Korea, headed by CEO Dimitris Psillakis, wanted to have a showroom at the shopping mall, which will open on Aug. 24, but failed to secure a spot due to lack of space.
Shinsegae said Monday BMW and Hyundai Motor will open showrooms at Starfield Goyang, which will house a range of shopping and entertainment facilities and nearly 100 restaurants. Its floor space totals 365,000 square meters, making it one of the nation's largest shopping centers.
BMW and Hyundai have been operating showrooms at Starfield Hanam, southeast of Seoul, which opened last September, drawing tens of thousands of visitors daily.
Visitors have mainly been residents of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. More than half of Korea's 52 million people live in the capital and its surrounding province.
Witnessing BMW's success at Starfield Hanam, Mercedes-Benz wanted a presence at Starfield Goyang, but this didn't happen.
"Motor One, our dealer in Paju, Goyang, and other cities in Northern Gyeonggi Province, talked with Shinsegae officials about setting up a showroom at the shopping center. But unfortunately, the two sides could not reach an agreement," a Mercedes-Benz official said. "Motor One could not find an appropriate spot inside the mall. The dealer should have contacted Shinsegae earlier to secure the space."
Shinsegae officials said the retailer couldn't offer Mercedes-Benz enough space for its showroom at Starfield Goyang.
"Mercedes expressed its intent to open a showroom at the facility but there wasn't much space left by the time it contacted us," a Shinsegae official said. "BMW, which operates an extensive showroom at Starfield Hanam, has long been talking with us about opening a showroom at Starfield Goyang. So BMW got what it wanted first."
He then said Shinsegae will welcome Mercedes-Benz to display its vehicles at the mall if the retailer creates additional space.
BMW Korea, headed by CEO Kim Hyo-soon, has been aggressive in setting up showrooms at Starfield malls, which have emerged as a new kind of a shopping place.
"We have been vocal about our intent to expand our partnership with Shinsegae," a BMW Korea official said. "We are glad to secure the right spot at Starfield Goyang ahead of our competitor."
The official said BMW's Starfield Hanam showroom has become a must-visit place as people can experience the full range of its models.
"At our showroom, people can learn about our models and test drive some of our vehicles. We have been selling about 200 vehicles each month at Starfield Hanam," she said. "We have no doubt that Starfield Goyang will also provide us with lucrative sales opportunities."
In the first six months of this year, BMW sold 28,998 cars, up 25.2 percent from the same period last year, while Mercedes sold 37,723, up 54 percent.
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