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, Feb. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Travelers to South Korea will now be able to purchase products at urban duty-free shops using a smartphone authentication service, without having to show their actual passports, the customs agency said Wednesday. The Korea Customs Service announced that the revised notice on the operation of bonded outlets was put [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — A group of luxury brands that have benefited from post-pandemic ‘revenge spending’ are withdrawing from downtown duty-free shops in South Korea, dealing a blow to related industries. Chanel, for example, decided to suspend the operation of its stores within the Lotte Duty Free branch in Busan and the Shilla [...]
SEOUL, June 19 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s two leading duty-free operators will begin to sell duty-free products through local retail channels next week as the government has decided to temporarily permit such sales to help the pandemic-hit sector, company officials said Friday. Industry leader Lotte Duty Free and its rival, Shilla Duty Free, plan [...]
SEOUL, June 3 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean duty-free operators began to sell duty-free products through local retail channels Wednesday as the government has decided to temporary permit such sales to help the pandemic-hit sector. Shinsegae International Inc. started to sell duty-free items of four luxury brands, including Balenciaga and Bottega Veneta, on its online [...]
SEOUL, June 1 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will expand the reduction of rental fees for airport duty-free shops and other commercial facilities hit hard by the new coronavirus outbreak, the transport ministry said Monday. State-run Korea Airports Corp. (KAC) and Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) will cut rental fees for duty-free shops, banks, restaurants [...]
SEOUL, May 30 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean duty-free operators said Saturday they will temporarily close some of their outlets in cities starting next month in line with a drastic fall in visitors amid the new coronavirus outbreak. Industry leader Lotte Duty Free said it will suspend the operation of its outlet on the southern [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — Several South Korean duty-free shops that temporarily shut down after people infected with Wuhan coronavirus visited them will reopen later this week, their operators said Wednesday. Shilla Duty Free, one of the country’s leading duty-free stores, on Sunday closed its two outlets in central Seoul and on the southern [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — Duty-free shops are shutting down as sales have plunged. Doosan Corp., the holding company of South Korean conglomerate Doosan Group, announced on Tuesday that it will shut down its duty-free shops located in Seoul’s Doosan Tower. This is the second time a duty-free store decided to withdraw from business [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 24 (Korea Bizwire) — After years of struggle in the face of a decline in Chinese tourists and increased competition, South Korea’s duty-free operators are in search of a more stable and sustainable business portfolio — to reduce their reliance on Chinese visitors and generate decent profits. The country’s duty-free business has raked [...]