INCHEON, Aug. 1 (Korea Bizwire) – Since 2015, KT&G (Korea Tobacco & Ginseng Corporation) has been able to maintain a winning streak in duty free store sales at Incheon International Airport. According to airport data, KT&G product sales at Korea’s leading airport came to 103.1 billion won ($92.7 million) and 71.8 billion won, respectively, in [...]
SEOUL, July 29 (Korea Bizwire) – Foreigners’ local duty-free shopping has rebounded this year after a dismal drop last year from a contagious respiratory disease, data showed Friday, renewing interest in new licenses for the retail business. Statistics provided by the Korean Duty Free Association (KDFA) said shoppers purchased an average US$207 worth of goods [...]
SEOUL, July 15 (Korea Bizwire) – Galleria Duty Free 63 officially opened on Friday, and it’s offering more than just duty free products. The new duty free store, located in Seoul’s iconic 63 Building, is operated by Hanwha Galleria, a subsidiary of Hanwha Group. Since its ‘Free Opening’ in December 2015, the store has recorded [...]
SEOUL, July 13 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s distribution industry has become heavily dependent on China for its profits, statistics indicated Wednesday, making them vulnerable to even political and social issues that can turn away consumers from the Asian neighbor. For Lotte Duty Free stores in Seoul, Chinese tourists accounted for 78 percent of its [...]
SEOUL, June 29 (Korea Bizwire) – Lotte Duty Free, South Korea’s largest duty-free operator, said Wednesday it has expanded its main branch in downtown Seoul, as part of efforts to make up for a sales shortfall from its other outlet in downtown Seoul which closed upon its license expiration. The main branch in Lotte Department [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – The outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in South Korea last year caused duty-free purchases made by foreigners to decline, despite overall sales going up thanks to solid rise in outbound travelers, data showed Wednesday. Sales to foreigners inched down 0.6 percent on-year to US$5.41 billion, the Korea [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – Hanwha Galleria, a retail unit of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha, said Tuesday it will partially open its first duty-free store at 63 City Building in downtown Seoul next week. Hanwha Galleria plans to open 60 percent of the proposed space in the gold-tinted skyscraper in Yeouido, a must-stop destination [...]
JEJU, Nov. 2 (Korea Bizwire) – The Jeju Tourism Organization’s duty free stores for locals reported sales of 47 billion won so far this year, which is an all-time high. It topped the previous record, which was 42.2 billion won in 2011, by 11.4 percent. Officials said that the increase in local tourists that visited [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 26 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korean duty-free retailers Hotel Lotte and Hotel Shilla are competing again to open more stores, this time on the country’s southern island of Jeju, which has become a business hotspot teeming with Chinese tourists who have proven to be zealous shoppers. The two duty-free giants, in addition to local builder [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 20 (Korea Bizwire) – As the growth of existing distribution channels such as department stores and big box discount stores reaches its limit, Korean retailers are rushing to open duty-free shops in an attempt to find new sources of revenue. According to industry experts, with the government planning to set up four more large-scale [...]