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End of Growth for Hypermarkets?

End of Growth for Hypermarkets?

SEOUL, July 8 (Korea Bizwire) – Hypermarkets, which offer a wide range of products under one roof, once prospered in Korea. Recently, however, sales growth has stagnated with a rapid change in consumer behavior.  According to industry watchers, hypermarkets in Korea anticipated high growth this year, following poor performance in 2015 from widespread public fear [...]

Samsung Further Narrows Gap with Apple in Operating Profit Margin

Samsung Further Narrows Gap with Apple in Operating Profit Margin

SEOUL, July 8 (Korea Bizwire) – The gap in the operating profit margins of South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. and its U.S. rival Apple Inc. is estimated to have further narrowed to single-digit percentage points in the second quarter of this year, market data suggested Friday.  Samsung Electronics estimated Thursday that its sales [...]

Size Matters: ‘Cupped Coffee’ Products in Korea Getting Bigger

Size Matters: ‘Cupped Coffee’ Products in Korea Getting Bigger

SEOUL, July 7 (Korea Bizwire) – The Korean coffee market was valued at 5.4 trillion won ($4.66 billion) in 2015, and it’s growing fast.  Powered by the trend, convenience store coffee products, which are often bottled or packaged in plastic cups, are also becoming popular. They’re usually more affordable than street cafés (an average Americano [...]

Consumers Moving to Take Legal Action against Coway

Consumers Moving to Take Legal Action against Coway

SEOUL, July 7 (Korea Bizwire) – Consumers are banding together for civil and criminal suits against Coway, South Korea’s leading maker of water purifiers, after nickel was discovered mixed in the water when using certain company models, industry officials said Thursday.  Some consumers are claiming the same defect in products from other companies, raising the [...]

Samsung Electronics Estimates Q2 Operating Profit at 8.1 Trillion Won

Samsung Electronics Estimates Q2 Operating Profit at 8.1 Trillion Won

SEOUL, July 7 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s top tech firm Samsung Electronics Co. estimated Thursday that its second-quarter operating income increased more than 17 percent from a year earlier on the back of robust sales of its flagship smartphones such as the Galaxy S7 series.  Operating profit is estimated at 8.1 trillion won (US$6.98 [...]

Shinsegae Taps into Rising Number of City-Vacationers in Korea

Shinsegae Taps into Rising Number of City-Vacationers in Korea

SEOUL, July 6 (Korea Bizwire) – Summer holiday season is back, but a growing number of Koreans are preferring to stay in the city instead of leaving the busy metropolis.  Shinsegae Department Store discovered that its summer holiday (July and August) sales accounted for 16.1 percent of its annual sales in 2015, which was an increase [...]

Shinsegae Expands Global Partnership for VIP Customers

Shinsegae Expands Global Partnership for VIP Customers

SEOUL, July 5 (Korea Bizwire) – Shinsegae Department Store VIP customers will now be able to enjoy VIP services offered by Le Bon Marché, the first ever modern department store, founded in France in 1852 and currently selling a wide range of high-end goods.  The partnership, which was finalized earlier this month, will grant Shinsegae VIP customers [...]

Nickel Sparks Fear among Korean Consumers of Water Purifier

Nickel Sparks Fear among Korean Consumers of Water Purifier

SEOUL, July 5 (Korea Bizwire) – Consumer anxiety is growing in Korea with the recent discovery of nickel in Coway water purifiers. Coway is Korea’s leading manufacturer and rental service operator of water purifiers.  Although the company is maintaining its official stance that the amount of detected nickel is minimal and is harmless to the [...]

Highway Rest Stops Incubators for Young Entrepreneurs

Highway Rest Stops Incubators for Young Entrepreneurs

WONJU, South Korea, July 5 (Korea Bizwire) – As most highway rest areas in Korea offer a great variety of eateries, they are becoming the perfect place for young entrepreneurs to start their businesses, just like an ‘incubator’. The Korea Expressway Corporation’s Gangwon Regional Headquarters announced on Tuesday, July 5, that it is holding a contest [...]