SEOUL, Feb. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean convenience stores are branching out into new fields as sales of cosmetics and pet products continue to increase. Nearly 95 percent of the products sold at convenience stores are food and beverages, according to industry sources, but an increasing number of convenience store chains are expanding their offerings [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 12 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean refiners are betting on non-refining activities to reduce their heavy reliance on their mainstream businesses amid the won’s strength and lower cracking margins, industry sources said Sunday. As the won’s strength against the dollar drives down cracking margins despite signs of recovering oil prices, local refiners have [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — Lotte Shopping Co., the retail affiliate of South Korea’s fifth-largest conglomerate Lotte Group, said Thursday it swung to the red in 2017 from a year earlier amid a diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system here. Its losses reached 20.6 billion won [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — Emart24, Shinsegae Group’s rebranded convenience store chain, is expanding at a faster pace than its main rivals although it’s still behind in the total number of stores, industry data showed Tuesday. Emart24 added 95 more stores in January, compared with 71 for CU, 84 for GS25 and 25 for [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Major department stores have put a large number of delivery workers on standby for the Lunar New Year holiday later this month, expecting better business after adjustments to an anti-corruption law, retail industry sources said Thursday. The Lunar New Year falls on Feb. 16 this year, and department stores, [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Korea Bizwire) – AmorePacific Corp., South Korea’s top cosmetics maker, said Wednesday its fourth-quarter net profit dropped 76.2 percent from the previous year, due largely to a sharp decline in the number of Chinese tourists. Net income came to 17.3 billion won (US$16.17 million) in the October-December period, compared with 73 billion won the previous year, the company said in a regulatory filing. Operating profit fell 24.7 percent on-year to 76.9 billion won [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — The unexpectedly high demand for hot packs this winter is causing a shortage of their main ingredient, iron powder, according to retail businesses on Wednesday. Sales of hot packs jumped 92.9 percent last week from the same period a year ago at convenience store chain CU. The increase from [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — Local duty-free shops are offering exclusive incentives for Chinese tourists, hoping to attract them during the Lunar New Year holiday next month, industry officials said Wednesday. The Feb. 15-21 holidays overlap with the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics taking place in South Korea’s eastern alpine region from Feb. 9-25 as [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korea Consumer Agency (KCA) has advised caution when using scented candles and incense sticks after an inspection revealed them to be producers of air pollutants. The KCA announced January 26 that after testing 10 different scented candles and incense sticks by burning one of the former for two [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Inc. said Friday it has signed an initial agreement with a foreign investment firm and a private equity firm to strengthen its e-commerce business amid a rapid expansion of the country’s online market. Shinsegae said it will hive off the online business divisions of [...]