SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korean retail group Shinsegae Inc. said Thursday its duty-free business unit will withdraw from Incheon International Airport’s DF2 zone due to mounting losses. Shinsegae, operator of South Korea’s second-largest department store chain, made the decision in order to improve operational efficiency in its duty-free business amid deepening losses, [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean retailers are gearing up for a surge in global shopping demand next month, timing major overseas promotions with U.S. Black Friday and China’s Singles’ Day as they seek to capture more spending from international consumers. W Concept, operated by Shinsegae, will run a two-week “W Week” promotion on [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s retail industry is rapidly expanding its private brand (PB) business, pushing beyond food and household goods into clothing, new digital platforms, and even overseas markets, as companies from convenience stores to hypermarkets and e-commerce firms compete to strengthen profitability and brand identity. According to BGF Retail, operator [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — As wine consumption rises with the arrival of autumn, South Korea’s convenience store chains are racing to differentiate their wine selections, forging partnerships with global distributors and wineries to appeal to increasingly sophisticated local palates. GS25 said its smart liquor pre-order platform, Wine25Plus, has recorded 500 million won ($365,000) in [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s franchise industry is showing widening fault lines between franchisors and franchisees, as corporate headquarters enjoy rising revenue while their outlets grapple with falling earnings. Data released Friday by corporate tracker Leaders Index revealed that across seven key sectors — coffee and beverages, fried chicken, pizza, convenience stores, bakeries, [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 6 (Korea Bizwire) — A massive customer data leak at Lotte Card has reignited debate over a curious corporate reality in South Korea: companies that retain familiar household names long after being sold off. Following last month’s data breach, online forums buzzed with surprise that Lotte Card is no longer part of the Lotte [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s e-commerce sector is undergoing a sharp consolidation, with a winner-takes-all structure emerging as Coupang and Naver entrench their dominance. Smaller players are collapsing or being forced into alliances, while global challengers from China accelerate their advance. The collapse of mid-tier platforms Tmon and Wemakeprice last year, which [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s antitrust regulator on Thursday conditionally approved a joint venture between Shinsegae Group’s Gmarket and Alibaba’s AliExpress Korea, clearing the way for a new challenger to disrupt a market long dominated by Coupang and Naver. The tie-up, structured as a 50:50 joint company under Grand Opus Holding, will [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean retail giant Shinsegae Group said Thursday its joint venture with Alibaba International has secured regulatory approval, clearing the way for a launch next month that could reshape the country’s online retail landscape. The 50:50 venture, greenlit by the Korea Fair Trade Commission, was approved after the companies [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean retailers are bracing for the return of Chinese tour groups, set to enter visa-free from September 29, by rolling out fresh promotions and diversifying their product lineups beyond luxury cosmetics to fashion, lifestyle and even convenience store exclusives. In the mid-2010s, Chinese “Youke” travelers became synonymous with [...]