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| A visual merchandising (VMD) professor and Daekyeung University students give advice at a market store. / Courtesy of Seodong Maze Market |
By Ko Dong-hwan
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Seodong Maze Market in Geumjeong-gu was struggling to stay alive amid the nationwide economic downturn.
On Feb. 23, it invited a visual merchandising (VMD) professor and the program's students from Daekyeung University to hold a three-day consultation session for people running about 20 stores at the market. The session gave sales tips, including how to display their items better.
As a result, the shops became more colorful and appealing, and new shopping bags with a traditional pattern image were introduced to appeal to consumers.
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| The market's new shopping bags, left, and apron |
The market also branded itself through a business intelligence (BI) project, under which every store will use the market's private-brand (PB) packaging materials.
A follow-up VMD consulting session will be held in early April.
Seodong Maze Market was started in 1968 by people evicted from their dwellings due to urban development and privatization.
The public market, originally three separate markets sharing a 1.5 kilometer narrow alley, was privatized during the 1970s. After winning a tourism-oriented markets contest held by the Small and Medium Business Administration in 2014, the markets merged under their present name in September the same year.
A web of streets inside the venue contributed to the market's name, but the market's occupants are fond of such roads, believing "the roads of beauty" help link people to people.
Market promoters are planning to bring cultural fun into the venue with street performances. The place is also becoming popular for a variety of age groups by providing voluntary assistance to people in partnership with international non-profit organizations like UNICEF and bringing local crops or other region-specific products on to market shelves.
