E-Mart24 opens 1st of 300 stores to be put up in Malaysia in 5 years

E-Mart24 Inc. opened its first store in Malaysia, a 257-square-meter outlet in an office district in Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday as part of its push to open 300 stores in five years in the Southeast Asian country.

The convenience store arm of South Korean retail giant Shinsegae has signed a "master franchise" contract with United Frontiers Holdings (UFH), a local food and distribution investment firm, for its foray into Malaysia.

UFH plans to open 10 E-Mart24 stores by the end of 2021 and 300 stores in five years.

The store will sell four brands of instant cup rice and Korean street foods like the Korean snack made of rice cakes and red chili pepper sauce"tteokbokki" the sweet-and-sour fried chicken called "chicken gangjeong."

It will also offer such convenience foods as "gimbap," or rice rolls with a variety of vegetables, salads, and sandwiches.

E-Mart24's brands will comprise 30 percent of all products.

It would also put up a special shelf for South Korean cosmetics products to address local interest in K-beauty.

E-Mart24's rival CU opened its first store in Kuala Lumpur in April this year.