Retail News CRM

Tag: Korea

  • Lotte launches smartphone app for Chinese tourists

    Lotte launches smartphone app for Chinese tourists

    Lotte Group has launched a smartphone app for Chinese tourists visiting Korea.

    The application is called ‘TianTianLeTian’, and provides visitors with information on shopping, tourism, and other services offered by Lotte companies.

    Department stores and large discount stores have already launched mobile solutions for Chinese tourists, but Lotte Group’s new software marks the first time an app was developed by an entire group.

    In addition to tourism information, TianTianLeTian also provides users with mobile coupons for Lotte Members, Lotte Duty Free Store, Lotte Department Store, and Lotte World.

    The app also provides suggestions for places to dine, popular tourist spots, the latest travel information and content from Hallyu stars. Maps are provided in Chinese, and translation services are also provided.

    In collaboration with Zai Seoul, a startup company specialising in travel information targeting Chinese tourists, the location and information of 1800 small shops are listed.

    Lotte will provide small businesses who subscribe to its service with big data related to keywords frequently used in searches by Chinese tourists, human traffic, and shopping habits, helping companies develop marketing strategies to attract Chinese tourists.

    Lotte’s decision to develop a new app was the result of a change in travel habits for Chinese tourists, and a move towards independent travel instead of group packages.

    According to data from the Korea Tourism Organization, the number of Chinese tourists visiting Korea individually nearly doubled in 2015 to 3.5 million compared to the 1.64 million visitors in 2013. The organisation expects 5.5 million individual Chinese tourists to visit this year.

    To target individual travelers who get most of their information through mobile devices while traveling, Lotte started development of the application in April 2015. The beta version was released on January 6, and the number of downloads has already reached 40,000.

  • First Shipment of Hemp Food Products for Korean Company Shipped from Naturally Splendid Facility

    First Shipment of Hemp Food Products for Korean Company Shipped from Naturally Splendid Facility

    Naturally Splendid Enterprises Ltd. is pleased to announce that the first shipment of 20 metric tonnes of hulled hemp seeds destined for the Port of Busan in South Korea, was shipped from the Naturally Splendid distribution centre in Burnaby, BC to the Port of Vancouver on schedule this morning.

    Naturally Splendid VP of Operations Bryan Carson states, “Having shipped the first container to Korea Beauty & Health Care in South Korea on schedule, we now look forward to fulfilling the balance of this $924,000 CDN purchase order”.

    Korea Beauty & Health Care Co., Ltd. (KBH) was established in 2003 and has a successful track record bringing a variety of products to the South Korean marketplace in the area of cosmetics, household items, functional foods, and medical equipment. KBH was certified as a food manufacturer and cosmetic manufacturer in 2015 and is also a product developer with its own R&D facility. The Company currently employs 62 people and generated revenue of approximately 12,000,000,000 Won ($14,000,000 CDN) in 2015 via online shopping, offline shopping, traditional retail and TV shopping channels. KBH will be marketing the NATERA(R)brand through online shopping, offline shopping, traditional retail and TV shopping channels.

    Naturally Splendid is a multifaceted biotechnology company that is developing, producing, commercializing, and licensing an entirely new generation of plant-derived, bioactive ingredients, nutrient-dense foods, and related products. Naturally Splendid is building an expanding portfolio of patents (issued and pending) and proprietary intellectual property focused on the commercial uses of industrial hemp and non-psychoactive cannabinoid compounds in a broad spectrum of applications.

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  • Lotte launches Paul & Shark in Korea

    Lotte launches Paul & Shark in Korea

    Italian lifestyle brand, Paul & Shark, has opened its first boutique in South Korea, at Incheon International Airport (ICN) in partnership with Lotte Duty Free – with a further two on the way.

    Commenting on the mid- December opening: Catherine Bonelli, Global Travel Retail Director at the brand, says: “This store makes a wonderful first step into the South Korean travel retail market for Paul & Shark.”

    “In the first quarter of 2016 another two openings are planned in Seoul, which will truly cement Paul & Shark’s presence in Korean travel retail. I would like to thank Lotte Duty Free for their support with the opening of this new store, which looks amazing.”

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  • Shinsegae Group in massive expansion plan

    Shinsegae Group in massive expansion plan

    Shinsegae Group says it will invest 4.1 trillion won ($3.4 billion) this year and hire 14,400 new staff to expand its retail business and revitalise the “sagging domestic economy”.

    “The overall retail sector has been struggling to deal with continued sluggish domestic consumption,” a Shinsegae Group official said. “But we decided to invest more and hire more workers to find new growth engines and help inject vigor into the stagnant domestic market.”

    Shinsegae, Korea’s largest retail group, will open 10 shopping centres across the country in 2016, including the massive Hanam Union Square southeast of Seoul, built on a 117,000 sqm site and employing 5000 staff. That project is worth 1 trillion won alone,  (US$832 million).

    The company’s discount arm E-Mart, is building a logistics centre in Gimpo, in the Gyeonggi province, to support an expanded online business as it ramps up competition with rivals including Coupang. It also plans to increase the size of many of its existing stores as well as opening new shops in Vietnam and other Southeast asian markets.

    Three new Shinsegae department stores will open their doors – in Hanam, Gimhae (in South Gyeongsang Province) and in Daegu. Stores in southern Seoul and downtown Busan will be expanded.

    And the company’s Shinsegae Duty Free operation is putting the finishing touches on an upmarket duty free store inside its downtown Seoul department store. That shop is scheduled to open in May.

    “Business conditions at home and abroad have largely been unfavorable for us,” said Shinsegae Group vice chairman Chung Yong-jin.

    “We expect to bear fruits this year from our investments in multipurpose shopping centers, duty free shops and department stores. We will continue to invest and hire workers as a leading retailer to help bolster the domestic economy,” he said.

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  • South Korean home shopping channel to launch in Thai market

    South Korean home shopping channel to launch in Thai market

    South Korean High Shopping Co, a joint venture between InTouch Media and Hyundai Home Shopping, is set to become the third South Korean home shopping operator to enter the Thai market, with a launch in Vietnam slated for the second quarter of 2016.

    High Shopping’s goal is to be among the top three players in Thailand’s 20-billion-baht home shopping market by 2020, according to the Bangkok Post. “Thailand’s home shopping market has a lot of potential, with annual 20 percent growth to reach 20 billion baht in 2020, double the revenue last year,” explained Lee Hae-seung, High Shopping’s Chief Executive.

    Home Shopping currently represents just 0.5 percent of Thailand’s retail industry, compared to 4 percent in South Korea. High Shopping is predicting that, of the 2,500 products it will offer for sale by mid-2016, cosmetics and kitchenware will be the best-sellers.

    The inventory will initially be made up of premium Korean brands, with international brands once the channel is established. The shopping channel is hoping to achieve sales of THB4.5 billion by 2020, with a 25 percent market share.

    The company is planning to broadcast on satellite TV platforms initially before expanding to cable and mobile devices.

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  • Drones manufacturer DJI to open flagship retail store in Korea

    Drones manufacturer DJI to open flagship retail store in Korea

    DJI, a manufacturer unmanned aerial vehicle technology, is set to open a flagship store in Seoul’s Hongdae district in March.

    Frank Wang, DJI Founder and CEO, said the location was chosen as Hongdae is a vibrant district that combines urban arts, indie music and pop culture.

    DJI korea inside

    “DJI is also creating a cool new culture for aerial enthusiasts, allowing people to experience and see the world from a new perspective,” he said.

    The five-story, 870-square-meter store will feature a full range of DJI’s consumer products, including the Phantom 3 series, the Inspire 1 and Spreading Wings series, Matrice 100, Guidance, the Ronin handheld three-axis camera gimbal line, as well as the company’s latest integrated stabilized 4K handheld camera, the Osmo.

    The store will have a lounge area for visitors to relax and enjoy aerial footage and content from around the world; a customer experience zone where DJI pilots will perform demos for different products; and customer support.

    The Seoul store is DJI’s second foray into retail after the December opening of its OCT Harbour shop near the company’s headquarters in Shenzhen, China.

  • “IKEA Effect” Hits South Korea with Boom in Furniture Retail Market in 2015

    “IKEA Effect” Hits South Korea with Boom in Furniture Retail Market in 2015

    The furniture market in South Korea has seen a surge in sales since IKEA entered the retail sector last year, stimulating consumer tastes for trendy home furnishings and competing with local retailers, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported on Monday.“The rising interest in home interior items has boosted demand for new furniture, driving up sales of furniture makers,” said Kim Kwang-seop, an official at Statistics Korea.

    According to Statistics Korea, retail furniture sales have jumped 7 percent since 2014 – the highest growth rate since almost a decade ago – with five trillion won ($4.15 billion) in earnings in 2015.

    Though local South Korean furniture retailers initially voiced concerns about losing business to the Swedish-headquartered furniture conglomerate that set up base in the outskirts of suburban Seoul in January 2015, the healthy competition has been a boom for the industry, according to Yonhap, which terms the industry’s revival the “IKEA effect.”

    The five largest home furnishing retailers – including Hanssem, Hyundai Livart and Enex – reported a 20 percent upsurge in sales in 2015, with experts also attributing the consumer boom to aggressive advertising by retailers through showrooms in major cities as well as the rising popularity of home renovation TV shows.

    IKEA, which has earned $308 million since its launch and has had over 6.7 million visitors, now plans to open up five more stores by 2020, according to Yonhap.

  • Korea retail sales slide

    Korea retail sales slide

    Korea retail sales took a surprise turn for the worst in December after three consecutive months of solid growth.

    Reported sales by department stores run by Hyundai Department Store, Lotte Shopping and Shinsegae Co show a 5.7 per cent fall year-on-year, according to figures released by the the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Tuesday.

    For the whole 2015 year, department store sales fell a modest 1.2 per cent, mainly due to the outbreak of Mers mid-year, and a rise in online shopping.

    The government attributed the December fall to warmer weather compared with the previous year, which may prompt one to speculate on January’s figures given the unusual cold snap hitting the country this month. The warmer climate meant fewer sales of winter clothing.

    Sales of luxury watches, jewellery and household electronics also fell.

    The December fall was the largest monthly year-on-year drop since 6.5 per cent last August. Sales rose by 1 per cent in November.

    Sales at South Korea’s major discount department stores fell 5.1 per cent, the third consecutive monthly decline and the largest since August.

    For the whole of 2015, discount department store sales fell 2.1 per cent.

    The Ministry said discounters’ December performance was affected by the warm weather and softening demand for food products.

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  • Korean, Singaporean investors also want to buy Big C Vietnam

    Korean, Singaporean investors also want to buy Big C Vietnam

    The analysts said that the auction is a unique opportunity for foreign corporations to pour capital into the two retail markets of the highest profit in Southeast Asia.

    Both the two new potential investors are appreciated for financial strength. Dairy Farm Group is the 2nd largest retailer in Singapore and Hong Kong, which owns a series brands like 7-Eleven, Cold Storage, Guardian, Wellcome Giant, Hero … Its revenue in 2014 is about $13 billion.

    Meanwhile, Lotte Shopping is Korea’s largest mall chain with turnover of $23 billion and $509 million of profit in 2014.

    Another source said that Japanese retail group Aeon Co Ltd is also considering to join the race.

    Earlier, the two retail giants of Thailand – Berli Jucker and Central Group – said they wanted to buy the property.

    Central Group, the largest retailer of Thailand, owned by billionaire Tos Chirathivat is said to have upper advantage because it holds a 25% stake of Big C Thailand.

    This group wants to buy an additional 58.6% of shares, equivalent to $3.1 billion. In addition, Central Group also expects to pay from $800 million to $1 billion to own the whole Big C Vietnam system.

  • Lotte founder appears in court to prove his health

    Lotte founder appears in court to prove his health

    The 93-year-old founder of South Korean retail giant Lotte Group walked into a court hearing on Wednesday to prove that he still remains healthy, which has emerged as a critical factor in the bitter family feud between his two sons.

    Shin Kyuk-ho appeared at the Seoul Family Court after his younger sister claimed her aging brother is no longer capable of making consistent decisions, requesting the court to pick her as his legal guardian.

    The gaunt tycoon claimed his mental competency is the same as in his 50s during an hour-long hearing and exited the court in a wheelchair, his lawyer told reporters, without elaborating on details.

    Shin Kyuk-ho, a 93-year-old founder of South Korean retail giant Lotte Group, enters a Seoul court on Feb. 3, 2015, for a hearing on his legal guardian. (Yonhap)

    Shin Kyuk-ho, a 93-year-old founder of South Korean retail giant Lotte Group, enters a Seoul court on Feb. 3, 2015, for a hearing on his legal guardian. (Yonhap)

    His lawyer said Shin will go through physical check-ups and ask for the court’s decision on whether he needs a legal guardian.

    After a months-long succession feud, Shin’s second son, Dong-bin, took control of the nation’s fifth-largest conglomerate last year. His older brother, Dong-joo, was stripped from the company’s senior posts, but he has claimed that his father chose himself as the legitimate successor for the group.

    Dong-bin has claimed that his father is unable to make reasonable judgments due to mental health problems.

    The founder and his family members have come under fire for exerting uncontrolled power over the business empire with a meager stake, tarnishing the corporate image with the nasty succession fight.

    South Korea’s antitrust watchdog said Monday that the founder and immediate family members of Lotte Group own just 2.4 percent of a stake in the businesses they run, which include food, leisure, construction and chemical businesses.

    The group initially began as a small confectionery business in Japan before it built up operations in South Korea. At present, the bulk of the group’s business comes from South Korea, with Shin and key family members all holding South Korean citizenship.

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  • Moody’s continues to review for downgrade ratings of Standard Chartered Bank Korea

    Moody’s continues to review for downgrade ratings of Standard Chartered Bank Korea

    Moody’s expects to conclude the review in March 2016, after incorporating SCB’s efforts to turn around SCBK’s performance, as well as the detailed results of SCBK’s parent, Standard Chartered Bank’s (SCB, FC deposits Aa2 rating under review for downgrade, BCA a2 rating under review for downgrade) performance for 2015.

    These results will be available in late February.

    Moody’s had originally placed the long-term ratings of SCBK on review on 9 November 2015. Please refer to “Moody’s reviews for downgrade Standard Chartered Bank Korea’s ratings” published on 9 November 2015.

    Moody’s notes that SCB is restructuring its poorly performing Korean retail and commercial banking businesses, introducing some uncertainty as to the future of SCBK’s operations.

    The ratings review of SCBK will consider whether: (1) these initiatives have the potential to change SCBK’s stand-alone credit profile, as expressed by its BCA; and/or (2) to change the strategic importance of SCBK to SCB and therefore potentially to affect the strength of support from SCB.

    The following ratings are on review for downgrade:

    – Local- and foreign-currency long-term deposit ratings of A1

    – Foreign currency senior unsecured MTN rating of (P)A1

    – Local- and foreign-currency short-term deposit ratings of P-1

    – Foreign currency commercial paper and other short-term ratings of P-1/(P)P-1

    – Long-term and short-term counterparty risk assessment of A1(cr) and P-1(cr)

    – BCA of baa2, and adjusted BCA of a3

    The principal methodology used in these ratings/analysis was Banks published in January 2016. Please see the Ratings Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.

    SCBK is headquartered in Seoul, with total assets of KRW61.7 trillion or USD54 billion as of June 2015.

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  • South Korea’s discount store sales fall at fastest pace in 4 mths

    South Korea’s discount store sales fall at fastest pace in 4 mths

    Sales at South Korea’s top department stores snapped three months of rises in December and marked their biggest annual fall in four months due to warmer weather compared with the previous year, government figures showed on Wednesday.

    Combined sales at department stores run by Hyundai Department Store, Lotte Shopping and Shinsegae Co fell 5.7 percent on-year, finalised data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy showed on Tuesday.

    This compared with a rise of 1.0 percent in November and was worse than a 3.8 percent decline estimated by the finance ministry. December’s drop was the biggest since a 6.5 percent fall in August last year.

    Warmer weather resulted in poor apparel sales as customers bought less winter clothes, the trade ministry said. High-end watches, jewellery and household electronics sales capped the decline.

    The average temperature in Seoul was 1.6 degrees Celsius (34.88°F) in December, compared to an average negative 2.9 degrees a year prior. The same data showed annual sales at South Korea’s major discount stores fell 5.1 percent in December in their third straight month of declines and the biggest fall since August.

    It was worse than a 2.1 percent fall estimated previously.

    Discount store sales also suffered from warm weather as well as softened demand for food products, the trade ministry said. On a whole for 2015, sales at department stores and discount stores fell 1.2 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively, mainly due to an outbreak of a deadly virus in the middle of the year and surging online shopping, according to the ministry.

    The trade ministry data came a day after fourth-quarter GDP slowed by more than half from the third quarter of 2015, as growth from private consumption was offset by poor construction investment.

     

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  • Korea to release online price index

    Korea to release online price index

    South Korea plans to unveil a new index tracing online retail prices this year by using big data from private sector to reflect actual economic sentiment, according to Statistics Korea on Tuesday.

    The state-run agency plans to release an online price index that will complement the consumer price index by the end of this year, the agency reported in its 2016 plan to President Park Geun-hye.

    To develop the new indicator, Statistics Korea is currently collecting price data from six major online shopping malls and discount store chains — E-Mart, Homeplus, Lotte Mart, Lotte Supermarket, 11st and Interpark.

    “The online price index will be calculated based on the prices of a sample of representative items being sold online,” an official at the agency said.

    He added that the index will show the average price change on a daily basis unlike the consumer price index which shows monthly data.

     

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  • Korea’s Hotping fashion mall goes global

    Korea’s Hotping fashion mall goes global

    Korean women’s clothing mall Hotping entered the global market just six months ago – and already cross-border sales account for 10 per cent of its turnover.

    Monthly sales to customers outside Korea have now surpassed the 100 million won (US$84,000) mark.

    “We believed that winning new markets quickly would secure future competitiveness after we started up in 2014 and we launched the English, Chinese, and Japanese versions of our online mall through the global eCommerce platform of cafe24,” explained CEO Kim Yeo-jin.

    “We received orders from international customers even when we had the Korean site only, which also quickened our entry into the global market.”

    Established in 2014, Hotping is a Korean women’s clothing specialty mall that carries trendy products popular in the world of fashion. Like its name suggests, Hotping is a ‘portmanteau’ word mixing hot trend and lovely pink. Another notable characteristic is that Hotping satisfies customers of various body types since it carries sizes from 44 (equivalent to XS in the US) to 105 (equivalent to XXL) for most of its products.

    As a result of the company’s continued sponsorship of the wardrobes used by Korean costume dramas, Hotping has been enjoying great brand awareness, particularly in countries swept by the Hallyu, or ‘Korean Wave’, notably the US, China, and Japan. In addition, as it carries a number of elegant and exclusive clothing lines, news anchors have also been inquiring about sponsorship.

    Hotping is also winning immense popularity with its line of highly elastic Magic Pants, whcih are proving popular globally thanks to a fun marketing campaign that sees dancers posing in a number of positions that highlight their extreme elasticity.

    Kim adds: “We will continue to make efforts to win new markets and will also continue offering beautiful clothes to our customers at reasonable prices like we do now.”

  • Lotte World Tower wins awards in challenging times

    Lotte World Tower wins awards in challenging times

    Lotte Duty Free’s $3bn 555m World Tower duty free store in Seoul has won three globally recognised and prestigious design awards for the first time in the Korean duty free business.

    Besides winning the ‘2015 Good Design Awards’ in the Environments category, the retailer also swept the board with three world-class prestigious design awards in the USA.

    Sun-wook Jang, President of Lotte Duty Free said: “Lotte Duty Free World Tower has contributed a lot in promoting the new duty free shopping environment. I’m so glad that we won the prestigious global design awards for the first time as a Korean duty free shop.”

    The retailer says it is the first duty free shop in Korea to win the Good Designs Awards prize, although it should be said that celebrations related to this high recognition are doubtless a little less than normal, considering Lotte actually lost its duty free licence back in November of last year.

    [Lotte Duty Free] Interior of the Worldtower store (3)

    [Lotte Duty Free] Interior of the Worldtower store (2)

    Lotte Duty Free opened its $3bn World Tower branch in the southern Seoul Chamshil area of Gangnam on October 16, 2015

    The duty free industry in Seoul was shocked at the time, although we understands that Lotte has since been investigating whether it will be possible to transfer one of its other Seoul duty free retail licences to the World Tower 11,000sq m operation to maintain its ‘downtown duty free’ status which it still holds at this time.

    But this aside, few could argue that the building itself is not a huge achievement and this has been recognised with these latest awards. South Korea’s largest duty free retailer says that the interior design was optimised for shopping right from the very beginning, with high ceilings to allow brands to express offers and cultures.

    In addition, the retailer has installed ‘world-class’ LED screens to support the environmental design in harmony with the digital era.

    In a statement, the retailer said: “The Media Wall (large LED screens), the Column (cylindrical LED screens surrounding the columns) and the Cylinder (LED screens hanging on the ceiling) make the place new and trendy.

    [Lotte Duty Free] Interior of the Worldtower store (1)

    [Lotte Duty Free] Interior of the Worldtower store (4)

    Within the store, chiffon and indirect lighting has been used to create an effect of ‘the sun shining through white clouds’. Other features include a large number of HD TV screens located around the store, providing details of products and special promotions. At the opening these featured exclusive promotional advertisements featuring the top model Su Hyun Kim.

    “The company has invested more than three thousand million Won ($2.4m) for installation [and] six hundred million Won ($498,174) for the initial stage of content development, which needs a steady investment.”

    Lotte adds that the three LED installations are integrated throughout the shop space, with the video content alternating throughout the day to offer entertainment, local heritage and natural environmental content.

    The company concluded: “The distinct shopping experience of [the] Lotte Duty Free World Tower store which presents the new cultural experience beyond shopping has been highly valued in terms of design by the awards.

    “Besides, the company has won the Bronze prize of HUB Prize (USA) in [the] Brand Experience category and [the] Merit award of Graphis Competition (USA) in Innovative Environment category.”

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