South Korea’s E-Mart will set up its first flagship store for Cambodia by the first quarter of 2019.

An agreement has just been signed by the department store and hypermarket group with Cambodian conglomerate Royal Group.

Established in 1993, E-Mart has expanded to 160 branches in South Korea and can also be found in China, Mongolia and Vietnam.

“I am confident the co-operation will benefit the Cambodian market by bringing in expertise from the hypermarket chain and in turn creating jobs,” says Commerce Minister Pan Sorasak.

Royal Group senior VP Rami Sharaf says the group has a broad portfolio which it is expanding to retail. He says it chose E-Mart as it has diverse options – malls, department stores, hypermarkets and convenience stores.

“We are exploring these options and believe Cambodia is ready for it. For E-Mart, we are not talking about a franchisee or franchisor, but a joint venture.”