SEOUL, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Retail sales in South Korea rose 9.2 percent on-year in 2022 on the back of growing outdoor activities on eased social distancing rules amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the industry ministry said Thursday. The combined sales of local offline retailers rose 8.9 percent on-year from the previous year, and [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s imports of coffee beans hit a new record in 2022, data showed Tuesday, in the latest sign of the drink’s growing popularity in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. Imports of coffee beans, including both raw and roasted products, reached US$1.3 billion last year, soaring 42.4 percent from $920 million [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — KT&G Corp., South Korea’s dominant tobacco company, said Monday it has extended its partnership with Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) to strengthen its presence in global e-cigarette markets. KT&G and PMI have signed a 15-year supply contract, in which the former will distribute its e-cigarette product line Iil through [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s imports of wine rose 3.8 percent in 2022 from a year earlier, data showed Sunday, as more people enjoyed consuming alcoholic beverages at home amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The total value of wine imported by South Korea last year came to US$581.2 million, according to the data [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — Lotte Duty Free, the travel retailer of Hotel Lotte Co., has won a concession to operate a duty-free store at Australia’s Melbourne Airport, company officials said Thursday, as the company prepares for a boom in international travel amid a global reopening Lotte Duty Free said it will open the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Exports of soju, South Korea’s traditional distilled liquor, increased 13.2 percent in 2022 from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, rebounding for the first time in three years. Outbound shipments of soju reached US$93.3 million in 2022, rising sharply from $82.4 million tallied a year earlier, according to the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 18 (Korea Bizwire) — Lotte Confectionery Co. said Wednesday it will invest 70 billion won (US$56.6 million) in its ice cream making affiliate in India, Havmor Ice Cream Ltd., over the next five years as the confectionery maker tries to strengthen its rapidly growing India business. Lotte Confectionery will build a new 60,000-square-meter [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — A growing number of Koreans are eating meals at home instead of going out due to the pandemic and restaurant price increases brought on by inflation. As a result, demand for miniature-sized vegetables is rising. Discount retailer Emart Inc. reported that last year’s sales of raon paprikas, which come [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — Liquor companies in South Korea are releasing eco-friendly, limited editions of alcoholic beverages ahead of the Lunar New Year. A-Young Fortune Brands Co. released the All PaperBox gift set on Thursday with packaging made entirely of paper. Liquor gift sets normally include plastic material or plastic airbags to protect [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 12 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s meal kit market still remains active unlike expectations that it would contract after the lifting of social distancing rules, as ready-to-eat meal products are still popular as an alternative to dining out amid a period of prolonged inflation. E-Mart24 Inc., the convenience store arm of South Korean [...]