E-mart opens first No Brand store in Mongolia

E-mart opened the first No Brand store in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on Friday, building on a decade of experience in the market to strengthen its role as an export platform for Korean products.

The store is located in the Yarmag new town district of Ulaanbaatar and, at 836 square meters, is the largest No Brand outlet outside Korea. It carries more than 5,000 items, including about 1,100 No Brand products alongside Korean and locally sourced Mongolian goods.

E-mart said it expects the No Brand store to broaden its role as an export platform supporting Korean small and medium-sized enterprises looking to expand abroad. About 70 percent of No Brand products are manufactured by small and medium-sized enterprises.

To reinforce that platform role, E-mart has been deepening cooperation with the government. On Thursday, the company signed an MOU with local partner SKY Hypermarket LLC under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and KOTRA's overseas retail expansion support program. The agreement covers joint efforts to raise awareness of the E-mart and No Brand brands, expand sales of Korean products and pursue joint marketing initiatives.

The company said the No Brand store launch carries particular significance because it is built on the solid business track record, brand strength and local trust E-mart has established in Mongolia over the past decade.

Mongolia is a market heavily concentrated in its capital: of a total population of about 3.5 million, roughly 1.7 million live in Ulaanbaatar. Long winters and chronic traffic congestion have made one-stop shopping — combining groceries, dining and leisure in a single visit — a strong consumer preference.

E-mart opened its first Mongolian store in 2016 and has since grown to six locations, ranging from large-format stores of about 12,540 square meters to smaller outlets of around 1,090 square meters, each tailored to its local trade area. The stores have become a leading retail destination, drawing an average of 30,000 visitors on weekends.

E-mart's success in Mongolia has also raised the profile of No Brand products locally. Sales of No Brand items in Mongolia surpassed 10 billion won ($6.65 million) last year, and the company projects sales will exceed 12 billion won this year.

E-mart plans to use the first No Brand store as a springboard for broader expansion in Mongolia. It aims to grow the chain to 15 stores by 2028 and establish a dedicated No Brand logistics cluster in the country. Over the following years, it intends to reach 50 stores within a decade, completing a retail network spanning all of Mongolia.

The opening ceremony in Ulaanbaatar was attended by Kim Jung-kwan, minister of trade, industry and energy, and E-mart CEO Han Chae-yang. "Drawing on the retail expertise and deep customer trust E-mart has built in the Mongolian market over the past 10 years, we are now introducing No Brand stores as a new growth engine," Han said. "We will continue to help outstanding Korean products expand overseas and keep building a K-retail platform where local customers and Korean companies can grow together."