KOREAN RETAILER'S NEW UNIT TO FOCUS ON MAINSTREAM SHOPPER

BARBARA MURRAY

RIDGEFIELD, N.J. -- The Han Ah Reum Asian Mart under construction here will be the largest of this independent's 11 units when it opens in mid-October, and it will focus on attracting mainstream American shoppers.

The new store being built in a former Rickel's unit will replace an older Han Ah Reum a stone's throw away. This independent, which carries a plethora of Korean items as well as Japanese and other Asian products, is hoping to broaden its customer base, not only in the new store, but throughout its other units.

Jay Han, art and marketing director for Han Ah Reum, guided SN through the chain's showplace 40,000-square-foot unit in Little Ferry, N.J., which opened three months ago. A sign outside the former ShopRite says "International Market" -- part of the move to broaden the store's appeal.

Inside, the Pointer Sisters can be heard over the PA system. At the entrance, bags of rice are stacked on pallets, with cases of ramen noodles next to them. The frozens department, toward the rear of the store along one side, has about 141 linear feet and stocks many products, including seasoned squid, dumplings, clams and mussels, octopus, eel and seasoned pollack roe, as well as regular and Oriental vegetables. Coca-Cola was 99 cents a 2-liter bottle during SN's visit. Other, exotic beverages sit atop the coffin freezer. Canned goods are stacked at the ends of aisles, including such items as prepared fried bean curd, straw mushrooms, brown rice vinegar and canned mackerel, which Han says is popular cooked outdoors at picnics. Five-pound bags of red pepper powder, for $5.99, last a typical Korean household two to three months, Han said.

Since the company is investing in large stores like the Little Ferry unit, or the one coming here in October -- which will be 80,000 square feet -- it wants to maximize its exposure and attract general market shoppers, Han said. Caucasian and Hispanic shoppers already patronize the stores, Han said, which carry mainstream products and national brands of cereal, crackers, cookies, ice cream and canned fruit, to name a few.

Han said he plans to advertise in a daily newspaper, the Bergen Record, to bring more mainstream shoppers into the stores. The retailer will also re-launch its marketing magazine.

Although an aisle in Han Ah Reum is labeled Goya Food/Mexican Food, Asian food and culture is the retailer's chief mission. At the eight checkstands in the front end of the Little Ferry store, for example, six television screens show Korean videotapes, which are for rent nearby. Korean herbs are sold in the supplement section, which is also in the front near the videotapes.

The Korean population in the five boroughs of New York City is constantly increasing, and according to Han a population of 50,000 within one hour's drive is enough to support a store. Northern New Jersey now has about 30,000 Koreans; Philadelphia, where there is also a store, has 20,000; and Washington, site of another store, has about 20,000 to 25,000, Han said. Han Ah Reum now has five stores in New York City, four in New Jersey, and one each in Philadelphia and Washington.