SPATIAL CHARACTERISTICS OF STRUCTURAL CHANGE IN RETAILING: A CASE STUDY OF THE GROWTH AND DIFFUSION PROCESS OF CONVENIENCE STORED IN KOREA

ADVISEO BY PROF. KIM. HYUNG COOK

1993. 8.

SUBMITTED BY SHIN, Kl DONG
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRRONMENTAL PLANNING GRADUATE SCHOOL OF ENVI ROHMENTAL STUDIES SEOUL NATI0NAL UHI VERSITY

The purpose of this study is to investigate the social and spatial impacts resulting from the 8rowth of the new types of retail business in Korea by case study of the growth and spatial diffusion process of Convenience Stores (CVS) and to appraise the results of case study from the standpoint of spatial planning. The procedure and contents of the research are as follows.

First. the characteristics of retailing are classified into two aspects (structural and spatial ) and theoretical approaches to each aspect are examined. In the course of this examination useful viewpoints and tools of analysis for the work of identification of the structural and spatial characteristics of the growth of CVS are abstracted.

Second, the characteristics of structure of retail business and urban spatial structure in Korea are examined in relation with the specific natures of the development of distribution industry in Korea in order to prepare the historical preconditions to the work of interpretation of the structural and spatial impacts of the of CVS in Korean.

Third, the conditions of advent of CVS as one type of innovative retail business and the characteristics of distribution activity of CVS are examined in order to understand the conditions and characteristics of the growth of CVS in Korea and prepare the logical preconditions to the work of identifing the specific natures of the growth of CVS in Korea.

Fourth, the characteristics of distribution activities and store location strategies of tad case firms are examined and the spatial diffusion processes and the states of outlet distribution of CVS are analysed in the aspects of distribution activity and location logic of CVS.

Finally, the characteristics of CVS diffusion process are reinterpreted with regard to overall restructuring of retailing in Korea in order to identify the process of commercial space restructuring and its social and spatial impacts and then present the nessesity and directions of political response. The results of the study are as for lows. First, CVS were introduced and diffused as an innovative retail institution in Korea through transfer of technology from the advanced contries, however they can not harmonize adequately with environments of distribution industry in Korea and demand vast social costs on the pretext of the modernization of distribution industry. The growth of CVS has significant influences on the existences of small scale food stores like as KuMeong Kage (Korean style mama & papa store). The reasons for this are that because CVS have high flexibility in location compared with supermarkets, another innovative retail business, they directly compete with small scale retail stores in the old towns, and that because CVS and small food stores of old style have very large disparity in market shares ' the two economy groups lie in relation of unresonable controdictions. Second. the characteristics of spatial diffusion process of CVS is that CVS diffuse simultaneously, multipartitely and intermittently with some stages and gaps in the periods of introduction of innovation between wide regional spheres rather than diffuse successively and gradually along national urban hierarchy. This pattern of diffusion is resulted from Domiant outlet strategy closely related with distribution center or vendor system. Especially, the fact discovered regarding the process of distribution activity of CVS is that in the diffusion of retail institutions under central control and HanageHent of national chain headquarters the threshold size is very large and so differentiation of consumption spaces in the national level can be exposed more explicitly.

Third, the sucess of CVS innovation was possible because of its ' ability to satiny effectively new· demands that variably disintegrated in the aspects of purchasing agents, times and places from the consumer demands for supermarkets. Therefore CVS have highly variable location types compared with supermarkets. However the distribution pattern of CVS in Korea is approaching to that in Japan of which urban physical characteristics, retail ins structure and socio economic conditions are similar to that of Korea, but short· explicit difference with that in America.

Fourth, CVS have an influence on the change of urban spatial structure by restructuring central place systems of lower order hierarchy through its specific nature of trade area contitution different from the cases of ever existing food stores. The specific method of merchandising supplying the benefits of multipurpose purchasing trip will upgrade overally the sire of trade areas of lower order central places. Moreover location choice processes of CVS based on than preci so survey on the trade areas of the headquarters intensify the physical conditions on which intricate and orderless processes of distribution activity and spatial systems can be understood and conceptualized as an arranged real world process.

Fifth, spatial impacts of CVS growth are not the same between local idies. Large scale supermarkets in newly developed towns and mini supermarkets and Kumeong Kage in old unploanted towns differently influence on the growth of CVS, and so diffusion processes and store distribution patterns of CVS will be different between the two areas. And because the business threshold size of CVS is very large than that of old style food stores CVS will not locate in the locations with low density of hinterland. Areas that CVS located and in which non-located are heterogeneous in consumption spaces of everyday life so that modes of consumption of inhabitants in each area are differentiated into pre-modern and modern types, and after all uneven,less distribution of CVS car be a physical condition eroding the social homogeneity.

Key words: Convenience Stored. Franchise Chain Stores, Structural Change in Retailing, Social and Spatial Impacts, Retail Innovation, Commodity Oistribution Activity, Dominant Strategy, Retail Location Logic. Spatial Diffusion, State of Store Distribution, Spatial Policy.