Homeplus Express sold, measures to continue for rehabilitation

Homeplus, an ailing Korean retailer undergoing rehabilitation proceedings, sold its supermarket chain Homeplus Express to NS Home Shopping. Despite the sale, the discount chain remains desperate to secure more cash, announcing a series of restructuring measures on Friday to pay wages and maintain operations. The company said it will temporarily close 37 underperforming Homeplus stores on Sunday to concentrate on the remaining 67 stores. Homeplus said the measure is to prioritize supplying limited product quantities to key stores first, so that it can restore customer trust and prevent sales declines at key outlets. Since January, the company’s financial difficulties have escalated into a liquidity crunch, prompting partner firms to halt supplies over concerns about delayed payments, leaving some shelves partially empty and reducing customer traffic in some stores. "Closure of the stores was an unavoidable decision due to the difficulty in supplying sufficient products to all stores, as major trading partners have tightened supply terms following the commencement of the rehabilitation p