SEOUL, April 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Koreans have embraced a fresh addition to their lexicon with the term “Hyeja-like”, denoting the exceptional content or quality of a product, especially in relation to its price. This term is derived from acclaimed actor Kim Hye-ja’s name and was inspired by her philanthropic work in creating an [...]
SEOUL, April 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s CJ Foodville Co. said Wednesday it swung to a net profit last year thanks to the stellar overseas performance of its bakery chain Tous les Jours. Tous les Jours is the second-largest bakery chain in South Korea by number of stores, after SPC Group’s Paris Baguette. The [...]
SEOUL, April 4 (Korea Bizwire) — Annual sales of South Korean duty-free retailers dropped 28.3 percent over the past four years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and prolonged diplomatic tensions with China, a lawmaker said Tuesday. Combined annual sales from local duty-free retailers came to 17.81 trillion won (US$13.5 billion) last year from 24.85 trillion [...]
SEOUL, April 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean chicken burger chain Mom’s Touch&Co. said Tuesday it inked a master franchise agreement with Mongolia’s Foodville Farm LLC, in its first steps to enter the central Asian country. Foodville Farm is an independent company established by the local franchise operator Monbakery LLC to expand the Mom’s Touch [...]
SEOUL, April 1 (Korea Bizwire) — Lotte Duty Free said Friday its operating loss widened last year due to the prolonged COVID-19 lockdown in China and the dollar’s weakness. The duty-free operator posted an operating loss of 139.5 billion won (US$106.8 million) for the entire year of 2022, up from 28.8 billion won in 2021, [...]
SEOUL, March 30 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s exports of instant noodles reached an all-time high in 2022, boosted by the global popularity of Korean food and culture, data showed Thursday. The country exported US$862 million worth of noodles, including instant noodles, or “ramyeon” in Korean, and udon noodles, last year, up 12 percent from [...]
SEOUL, March 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Retail sales in South Korea grew 7.9 percent on-year in February on rising demand for fashion, tourism and other items as people increasingly adapted to post-pandemic life amid eased antivirus restrictions, the industry ministry said Tuesday. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers came to 13.1 [...]
SEOUL, March 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s duty-free sales rose nearly 37 percent on-month in February, industry data showed Monday, as China resumed short-term entry for Korean travelers. Combined sales at duty-free shops in Asia’s fourth-largest economy came to 1.09 trillion won (US$837.4 million) last month, up 36.7 percent from a month earlier, according [...]
SEOUL, March 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Hitejinro Co., South Korea’s leading beverage company, said Monday its annual exports of soju hit a new record high last year, thanks to the Korean distilled liquor’s surging global popularity. Hitejinro said it posted US$120 million in soju exports last year, up 16.4 percent from a year earlier. It [...]
SEOUL, March 24 (Korea Bizwire) — BGF Retail Co., the operator of CU convenience stores, said Thursday it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with domestic start-up KEIL to convert near-expired food items into feed for mealworms. Under terms of the MOU, BGF Retail will provide the near-expired food items waiting for disposal at [...]