SEOUL, Oct. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Handbags accounted for more than a quarter of the goods carried by overseas travelers exceeding the duty-free limit over the past four years. According to the data submitted to Rep. Kim Doo-kwan from the Korea Customs Service, handbags accounted for 33,152 cases or 27.2 percent out of 122,500 cases [...]
SEJONG, Oct. 13 (Korea Bizwire) — In-flight duty-free sales rose between June and September this year, data showed Sunday, defying market expectations that they may decline after the opening of on-arrival duty-free shops. South Korea’s first on-arrival duty-free stores opened at Incheon International Airport in late May in a bid to reduce discomfort experienced by [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s two leading duty-free operators have bid for the right to sell cigarette and liquor products at Singapore’s Changi Airport, an industry tracker said Tuesday. No. 1 Lotte Duty Free and second-largest Shilla Duty Free submitted their bids to operate tobacco and liquor concessions at Changi’s four terminals [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean duty-free stores saw their sales from Japanese consumers rise sharply on-year in January despite the on-going military tension between the two countries, apparently on the back of the strong Japanese yen, industry sources said Sunday. Sales from Japanese consumers at a Lotte Duty Free shop in Seoul’s [...]
SEOUL, May 24 (Korea Bizwire) — Red ginseng was the most popular product among Chinese shoppers at Korea’s airport duty-free shops, according to a survey by Shinsegae Duty Free’s Incheon Airport branch. In addition, Japanese visitors favored dried laver products, while Southeast Asian tourists said they liked “Honey Butter Almond” products the most. According to [...]
SEOUL, April 13 (Korea Bizwire) – The operator of Incheon International Airport put up a notice of tender for the licenses to run duty-free shops at South Korea’s main gateway on Friday, it said, after retail giant Lotte decided to pull out following a plunge in the number of Chinese tourists. The business rights will be valid for five years, with the launch of [...]
SEOUL, Oct. 27 (Korea Bizwire) – Speculation that the recently held 19th National Congress of China’s Communist Party would lead to a gradual easing of tensions between China and South Korea is building hope among local tourism and duty-free businesses. The relationship between the two neighboring countries turned icy after the installation of U.S. missile [...]
SEOUL, Sept. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – A South Korean duty-free store will shut down this week amid a sharp drop in the number of Chinese tourists following a diplomatic row over the deployment of a U.S. missile defense system here, officials said Tuesday. Hana B&D, located at the Pyeongtaek port, some 70 kilometers south of [...]
SEOUL, July 3 (Korea Bizwire) – Hanwha Galleria Timeworld Co., a local duty-free operator, said Monday the company will pull out of a local airport next month amid a sharp drop in the number of Chinese tourists. In a regulatory filing, the duty-free operator said its store at Jeju Airport will shut down Aug. 31, [...]
SEOUL, June 1 (Korea Bizwire) – Amid fears of further Chinese economic retaliation over the South Korean deployment of a THAAD missile defense system, duty-free stores that were scheduled to open soon are scrambling to postpone their opening date. Last week, the Korea Duty Free Shops Association (KDFA) made an official request to the Korea Customs [...]