SEOUL, Jan. 9 (Korea Bizwire) – Samsung’s surprise surge in 2016 Q4 profit may further close the gap with its U.S. competitor Apple. According to industry watchers, Samsung reported sales revenue of 53 trillion won ($44 billion) with an operating profit of 9.2 trillion won, for an impressive operating margin of 17.36 percent. The value [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – LG Electronics Inc. forecast Friday that it is likely to have returned to the red in the fourth quarter of last year, indicating that its money-losing smartphone business appears to have continued to crumble. LG said it expects an operating loss of 35.3 billion won (US$29.6 million) for the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – A Seoul court on Friday sentenced a former head of Reckitt Benckiser’s local unit to seven years in prison, more than five years after the scandal over the household goods maker’s toxic humidifier sterilizers came to light. The Seoul Central District Court convicted Shin Hyun-woo, 68, of selling the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Korea Bizwire) – Samsung Electronics Co. predicted Friday that its fourth-quarter operating profit last year may have jumped about 50 percent on-year, beating market expectations as strong sales of chips and displays appeared to help offset losses from a global recall of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphones. Operating profit is estimated at [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s textile and garment industry is set to suffer a trade deficit for the second consecutive year in 2016 amid an influx of cheap Chinese products, industry data showed Friday. According to the data compiled by the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), the segment’s exports dipped 4.8 percent [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Korea Bizwire) – A vacuum cleaner with improving robotic options manufactured by Samsung Electronics Co. has been named one of the best vacuum cleaners of the year by a U.S. consumer magazine, according to the magazine Wednesday. The Powerbot of Samsung was listed as one of the eight best vacuum cleaners in [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s exports through e-commerce platforms have increased sharply this year, apparently helped by the government’s policy support, data showed Friday. Outbound shipments via the Internet and other e-commerce sites totaled US$985 million in the first 11 months, according to the Korea Customs Service (KCS). The volume is projected [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – Despite much larger sales, franchisees in South Korea earn less money than owners of stand-alone stores due to higher costs, a report said Thursday. The operating margin for one-man franchise stores in the wholesale and retail sectors came to 12.8 percent in 2014, 10.5 percentage points lower than that [...]
SEJONG, Dec. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – The popularity of “K-beauty” has officially found its place in the U.K. cosmetics market. POSCO DAEWOO, POSCO’s trading subsidiary, announced Tuesday that starting next year, Korean cosmetics brands Caolion Cosmetics and SKINFOOD will be featured at some 220 outlets and the online store of Boots, the largest pharmacy chain [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Korea Bizwire) – Lotte Group became the first South Korean conglomerate to make paternity leave mandatory for male employees, marking a significant step forward in changing Korea’s strenuous working culture. The new company policy affects all its affiliates, and obliges male employees to take a minimum of one month of paternity leave [...]