T esco in K orea: Regulation and Retail Change

In S outh K orea, rising resistance has slowed the advance of global retailer T esco to the advantage of traditional shopping locations. In 2013, T esco claimed that retrospectively‐applied K orean S unday trading regulations reduced its trading there by 8 per cent. We utilised secondary sources and also conducted an empirical survey of 1,092 consumers in 22 K orean cities to assess reactions to this regulatory change and found evidence of spatial switching back to traditional locations. Our K orean respondents supported the new S unday trading restraint. Such an outcome would not be expected in those Western countries where further liberalisation is still promoted. Also, the poor trading figures announced by T esco‐ H omeplus in 2013 imply that H omeplus never fully adjusted to the K orean market. Issues of society and culture continue to challenge commercial innovations: with spatial implications.