Shinsegae Southcity launches 'Sports Crew' membership to court active shoppers in their 30s and 40s

Shinsegae Department Store Southcity announced Tuesday it is launching Sports Crew, a customer-participation membership program.

The southern Gyeonggi Province retail market has a high concentration of shoppers in their 30s and 40s with strong interest in health and wellness. In response, Shinsegae Southcity renovated its sports specialty floor in April, expanding its Adidas Performance and New Balance sections and refreshing 35 brands including Puma and Fila.

Sales in sports, fashion and golf rose 14 percent year-on-year in May and June. The number of customers in their 30s and 40s shopping key brands such as Adidas and New Balance — both of which underwent renovation — also grew 15 percent compared with the same period last year.

Sports Crew is a participation-based membership that offers greater rewards the more customers engage with sports. From July through December, members will receive Shinbaek Rewards along with discount vouchers for the food market, food and beverage outlets, and the sports, fashion and golf categories, based on their cumulative spending.

Shinsegae will also run a Sinsa Club Sports Crew community within its mobile app. Members can post workout certifications and activity reviews covering running, golf and other sports. Each month, the top participating customers will receive vouchers worth up to 100,000 won ($66).

Bae Jun-seok, store manager of Shinsegae Southcity, said the store would "provide a differentiated experience where customers can enjoy not just shopping, but also exercise and community, through Sports Crew and a variety of other sports content."