The Shilla Duty Free has appointed a new MD of its Hong Kong operations. Changha Shin takes over the helm of Shilla Travel Retail Hong Kong this week after the surprise departure of Alice Woo. Woo built the business up after becoming its first employee last year when the Korean-owned travel retail company secured major duty-free concessions at Hong Kong International Airport.
Prior to working with Shilla, Woo spent 22 years in travel retail in Asia, Hawaii and North America, with companies including DFS Group and Nuance Watson.
Her replacement Shin was previously the merchandising director of Shilla Travel Retail Hong Kong. In a short statement, Shilla said Shin has a wealth of knowledge across various product categories with 14 years of experience. He started in HR with Shilla Group and has “deep knowledge” of Shilla Group and its partners.
“The Shilla Duty Free is proud to promote from within and support the development of its staff.”
Woo will leave her position this week with the change referred to being due to “internal circumstances”. It is unclear if she will remain with the company in another role.
Korea’s mid-sized cosmetics companies suffered losses in the third quarter of this year as they struggled to reorganize their business structures in the face of tough competition at home, industry sources said Sunday. Able C&C, which operates budget cosmetics brand Missha, swung into the red in the July-September period, posting a net loss of 9.4 billion won ($8.3 million), it said.
Its sales dropped 12.1 percent to 73.1 billion won and operating income swung to a loss of 13.2 billion won. The company said fierce competition in the country’s cosmetics industry, combined with its heavy investment in research and development of new products, led to the poor earnings results.
Tonymoly reported a net loss of 3.5 billion won, with 800 million won in operating losses on a consolidated basis during the cited period, according to the company.
Korea’s mid-sized beauty firms’ profitability deteriorated following a diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing last year, which led to a sharp drop in the number of tourists coming to Korea. Industry watchers said the expansion of online and duty-free channels has hurt the mid-sized companies, which rely heavily on offline stores. Last month, Skinfood was placed under a Seoul court’s receivership after the company said that it is having temporary difficulty securing liquidity due to excessive debt.
“We are making efforts to improve our profitability and strengthen our online business,” an official from Nature Republic said.
Nature Republic reduced the number of its stores to 680 by the first half of this year from 770 in 2015. The company reported 58.8 billion won in sales and 300 million won in operating income in the third quarter of this year.
Mercedes-Benz Korea is still committed to diesel despite a global shift to eco-friendly engines, such as hybrid or electric units. The Korean section of the German premium carmaker premiered a partially revamped model of its flagship C-Class sedan in Incheon on Friday, equipped with a diesel engine.
The C-Class sedan is one of Mercedes’ biggest models, having sold 9.5 million units worldwide since its introduction in 1982. Korea is the seventh largest market for the C-Class.
Although not a fully revamped version, some 6,500 parts, including engine parts, have been upgraded, the company said.
On Friday, Mercedes-Benz Korea showed a C 220d model with a four-cylinder OM 654 diesel engine, an interesting approach considering the industry’s shift to zero emissions.
“This diesel engine’s CO2 emissions are 15 percent less than the petrol engine [with the same 2.0-liter capacity],” said Jochen Betsch, head of advanced engineering diesel at Daimler, who gave an extensive presentation on the upgraded diesel engine at a press event Friday in Incheon.
Even while shedding 16 percent of its weight, the new engine added 24 horsepower to generate a maximum of 194 horsepower and torque of 40.8 kg.m.
“It gets quite obvious that Daimler has strong commitment for diesel,” Betsch said.
Dimitris Psillakis, CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea, said a version with a gasoline engine will launch in the first half of next year, followed by a plug-in hybrid engine.
“A diesel engine has its strong points with performance and even CO2 emissions,” Psillakis said. “It is important to offer all the options out there to our customers.”
The press event Friday included an extensive presentation on the upgraded diesel engine, a move that many saw as a reference to rival BMW diesel models that experienced a spate of fires in Korea last summer. Psillakis, however, denied such speculation, saying the “customers have the right to know about the improved features of the new diesel engine.”
The new C-Class’ official fuel efficiency wasn’t disclosed.
Its price starts at 55.2 million won ($48.9 thousand).
A growing community of Korean women primarily in their 20s to 40s prefer renting high-end goods from subscription services such as Series Eight, The Closet and Reebonz Korea. Asked why they chooses to rent their wardrobe, they said the introduction of luxury goods rental services helped her prioritize living expenses and limit unnecessary spending on personal shopping.
By paying a monthly subscription fee of 79,000 won (US$70), Reebonz customers, for example, can rent up to two bags a month. Customers opting for pricier premium plans are given the option to rent a bag from the most expensive or popular brands for up to 10 days for prices ranging from 9,800 won to 19,800 won.
“Subscription-based business models have not seen much success in the local market compared to other countries. But, because luxury goods’ prices are so high compared to the low purchasing power of Koreans in their 20s and 30s, the (subscription) services are expected to see substantial growth in South Korea,” said Choi Kang-sik, a professor of economics at Yonsei University.
Choi said that with more women wanting to rent luxury goods, rental companies must better communicate with luxury brands in order to bring better products to the table.
“The power of luxury brands will always see an upward trend. The difference, now, will be that consumer groups won’t be women visiting department stores. It will be the luxury rental companies who will be supplying the bags to the original customer base,” he said.
Even though popular American designer rental services such as Bag Borrow or Steal and Rent the Runway launched a decade earlier, designer subscription services garnered attention from local consumers starting in 2016, according to Series Eight CEO Kim Tae-hyun.
Kim, who co-founded Reebonz Korea with current chief Ha Dong-gu, left Reebonz to launch the startup Series Eight under the Value Art Architect Group last year.
On the surface, the two companies share similar concepts with regards to lending customers a hand in renting high-end products.
If Reebonz sticks to a subscription model, Series Eight and its six-member team envisions a shopping platform beyond just a rental service where women can rent high-end bags whenever and for however long they please.
“We essentially did not want to give the idea of pressuring women to pick a bag every month just because they are paying a certain amount. The pressure in itself ruins the shopping experience,” Kim said.
In order for a business to be successful on a subscription-based model, it needs to provide convenience, value for the money and personalized experiences. Consumers will cancel services that do not deliver unique, excellent personalized experiences, according to Choi.
Park Sun-young, juggling being a mom and public relations director at an ad agency in Seoul, appreciates such unique value from subscription services. Unlike her younger colleagues who seem to have time to go shopping, Park would rather save money and time by renting her wardrobe online.
“I think young women may feel it’s weird to rent designer clothing and carry handbags that are ultimately not theirs. But, look inside your closet. How many bags are just sitting on the shelf collecting dust?” Park posed.
“Being a mom and having a job, the rental services make my shopping experience something I look forward to at the end of the night before I go to bed. Just scroll down, look through the catalogue and click order.”
Jeju Air, Korea’s biggest budget carrier by sales, said, on Tuesday, that it inked a $4.4 billion deal for 40 new planes, with the delivery set to begin in 2022. Jeju Air has decided to buy Boeing’s new B737 MAX passenger jets to strengthen its fleet, the company said in a statement.
The low-cost carrier plans to assign the 189-seat B737 MAX on its mid and long-haul routes as they are more fuel efficient than the planes it currently operates, a company spokeswoman said over the phone.
The new jets have a range of some 6,500 kilometers, 1,000 km more than the B737-800NG that the company currently operates.
In the January-September period, net profit jumped 31 percent to 84.86 billion won ($75 million) from 64.61 billion won a year earlier. Operating profit climbed 14 percent to 95.82 billion won from 83.79 billion won during same period. Sales were up 28 percent to 941.93 billion won from 734.78 billion won.
Jeju Air said it is on track to achieve sales of over 1 trillion won this year on the back of a strengthened fleet and profitable routes.
East Asia’s affordable lifestyle brand Mumuso has announced its expansion plans in Kolkata while opening its first store. Mumuso is eyeing the Indian market aggressively with new stores in different parts of the country, a senior executive said.
With a strong presence in over 30 countries across the world, the Korean lifestyle brand Mumuso has entered into the Indian Market and plans to open around 300+ stores by 2022 with an average investment of Rs 80 lakh to Rs 1.2 crore which will be spent towards setting up these company-owned and franchise stores. The brand is planning to open outlets pan India with its market reach in cities likes Kolkata, Hyderabad, Siliguri, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Surat, Durgapur, Chennai and so on.
Mumuso India — the Indian entity of Mumuso —whose offerings include accessories, stationery, small electronics and lifestyle items, sources these mostly from South Asian nations such as Malaysia, Singapore, China, Indonesia and Korea.
India has seen a sharp rise in the demand for lifestyle products in the recent years. Mumuso has product categories from Health and Beauty, Fashion Home Accessories to Apparel, Accessories, Digital Products and more. The products offered by the brand are not only beautiful, functional, high-quality and affordable but also provides relaxing and pleasant shopping experience to the customer.
Speaking on the occasion, Raunak Agarwal, Managing Director, Mumuso India said, “Our expansion strategy is to set up 300+ outlets all over India along with entering the e-commerce market as online shopping has seen a big boost in India in recent years. We are also looking to source from Indian companies specially apparels and small leather products. The company will look to have 300-odd stores by mid-2022. India, being a fast emerging market for retail industry, we are expecting an escalated growth in a short span of time. Indian market has a big potential, where we believe our creative range of products will enhance the rich experience of customers since it’s an international brand with high quality and valued pricing.”
He added, “There has been a high demand for the trendy and affordable products as far as lifestyle is concerned. People not only look forward to quality and style but also affordability. With Mumuso coming into the picture, people won’t have to travel to different stores for their needs, but just walk into our showroom and get their products. Mumuso brand always adheres to the principle of selling products with reliable quality and affordable price, strictly observes to the borderline of high quality, strives to improve the upper limit of taste and price ratio and provides well-designed products, continuously optimizes the supply chain service system to reduce the cost, creating relaxing and light-hearted shopping experiences for consumers.”
As aftershocks of the clampdown on Daigous continue to reverberate through the luxury shopping community in China, e-commerce platforms are rising to fill the gap.
The launch of China’s new e-commerce law, coupled with the 928 Daigou crackdown at the Pudong International Airport in Shanghai, has stirred up uncertainty in the global luxury industry.
In fact, LVMH share prices reportedly fell in early October due to fears of a slowdown in Chinese spending.
Earlier this month, Luxury Society attended the live seminar “Reinterpreting the 300-billion Daigou market” hosted by Tencent media.
During a debate, luxury e-commerce platform OFashion’s CEO Xiao Yu and N5 Venture Capital’s founder Xiao Yiwei shared their insights on how luxury buying will likely evolve in the post-Daigou era.
According to Xiao Yu, the estimated Chinese luxury spending in 2018 is 600 billion RMB and Daigou purchases account for half of that, making it an estimated 300-billion industry.
Without Daigou, what is the next best alternative for Chinese consumers looking to buy authentic luxury goods at lower prices?
First, let’s revisit the 928 daigou crackdown in Shanghai’s Pudong airport and take a look at how China’s 300-billion Daigou industry is in danger.
What Happened During The 928 Daigou Crackdown
September 28 2018 marked an important date in the history of Chinese luxury consumption.
In Shanghai Pudong airport, all passengers returning from Seoul were stopped by Chinese customs for baggage inspection.
Seoul has been a classic shopping destination for Daigous to obtain global brands at a discount. More than 100 passengers from same Seoul-Shanghai flight were found guilty of illegal imports.
It was every Daigou’s living nightmare.
One of them relayed the unfolding events through WeChat text messages. Screenshots of this message thread eventually made its way online.
The messages read,
“In the line to pay my fine”
“I was live streaming in duty free shop during the day, but live streaming fine payment during the night (face palm emoji)”
Source: Sohu, A Daigou’s WeChat record of 928 crackdown got popular online.
Whether as a full-time profession or simply a hobby, the Daigou business is one based on relationships.
In fact, the first clients of most Daigous are generally from his or her own social network.
Since Daigous operate in a legal gray area and rely solely on private transactions, customers often have a hard time verifying the authenticity of their purchases.
Needless to say, seeking redress in the case of fraud is difficult or near impossible.
Within the last decade or so, Daigous have become rather ubiquitous.
Chinese netizens often joke on social media that “everyone has a Daigou friend on his/her WeChat”, or “Daigou is our generation’s best marketing guru”.
Rumors of Daigous making a minimum of $100k USD a year and buying houses while still in college flood the internet, making the Daigou profession both a mysterious and highly coveted one in China.
On September 28, however, this all came to a screeching halt.
Within a night, the image of Daigous as self-made businessmen was reduced to that of illegal importers.
Chinese Luxury Consumers Have Changed
The Daigou business flourished in China largely because of strong domestic demand for global luxury products. This demand is quickly changing.
During the seminar, OFashion’s CEO Xiao Yu offered his observations on shifting consumer tastes by analyzing the purchase data of its platform’s 3 million active buyers.
Here are our major takeaways.
1. Chinese Consumers Love Buying “Hits”
The biggest difference between luxury consumers from China and those from mature markets is that Chinese consumers prefer mainstream “hit” items, while mature market consumers also buy a brand’s long-tail (niche) products.
2. Entry-Level Luxury Sells Best
Out of all the luxury product categories, entry-level items with a price range of 2000-5000RMB (430-730USD) exhibit the strongest sales performance.
3. Consumer Tastes Have Diversified
While Chinese consumers concentrated their research on highly famous luxury brands in the past, they are now much more receptive to niche brands.
Bestselling product styles have also shifted from traditional classics like the Salvatore Ferragamo ballet flat, to streetwear brands.
Additionally, Chinese consumers are now searching more about domestic brands compared to four years ago, when most searches were about established global brands.
4. TheLipstick Effect Doesn’t Quite Apply In China
Considered an entry-level luxury product, lipsticks have been selling like hot cakes in the Chinese market recently.
While the “lipstick effect” – a global economic theory that postulates the correlation between beauty product sales and economic downturns – may hold true in many markets, industry professionals have stressed that it might not necessarily be the case in China.
While China might be in the midst of a lipstick craze, experts have noted that lifestyle brands that are inspiring, soulful, and fun, can still rise to the top of the market quickly.
How Platforms Can Rise To The Challenge
Now with the individual Daigou business in danger, it’s time for luxury cross-border platforms to shine.
As the live seminar’s two speakers noted, inefficiency is still a huge pain point in the cross-border industry.
That said, cross-border solutions aiming to improve efficiency would likely to grow fast.
As the luxury buying business faces tightening controls by regulators, consumers are turning to professional buyers, reliable platforms, or buyer’s platforms — a combination of the former two.
Besides established luxury e-commerce platforms such as Tmall Global, JD’s Toplife, Secoo and VIP, platforms that specialize in serving professional buyers are booming, too.
Tmall Global’s Luxury Direct has turned buyers into consultants and made fashion-consulting service a selling point.
The platform’s “About” page reads, “Our buying team takes orders straight from fashion weeks and selects products from brand official showrooms all across Europe.”
OFashion’s app “Buyer Box”, an app targeting professional buyers, has even a CRM (Client Relationship Management) system for users to personalize a client’s order.
Netflix content will be available on LG U+ internet protocol TVs (IPTV) today. Under an exclusive IPTV deal inked with LG U+, Netflix content, including Netflix Originals, will be aired through LG’s platform, the carrier said Wednesday.
LG subscribers won’t have to replace their existing set-top boxes as they will be automatically upgraded, though services will be first offered to the 1.07 million users of LG’s latest set-top box, dubbed UHD2, and gradually rolled out to other set-top boxes.
Considering Netflix offers over 22,000 movies and television shows, including its big-name original content like “House of Cards,” “Stranger Things” and “Orange Is the New Black,” this is a good chance for the smallest carrier in Korea to steal some subscribers.
By next month, the carrier will also reform the user interface of its IPTV so users have easier access to Netflix content as well as its own kids’ content platform, dubbed “Kid’s World,” that is gaining popularity among customers in their 30s and 40s with children. LG is banking on both services for the further growth of its IPTV business, according to Song Gu-young, senior vice president and head of home and media business at LG U+.
The revamped interface could look similar to the Netflix app. When a user selects a video, an image related to the video will fill up the whole screen and a preview will run automatically, which is similar to how video previews are played on the Netflix app.
The partnership between LG U+ and Netflix is no surprise as the market has long been expecting the announcement, but what’s still not clear is whether the carrier will offer a phone plan centered on Netflix. Without a useful plan, existing users of Netflix might not feel the urge to migrate to LG just for the IPTV service because it would only mean they get better access to Netflix content on the LG platform, but for the same monthly fee.
LG is reportedly planning to roll out phone plans with a Netflix discount, according to an industry source, but it might take some time as new plans need government approval.
For the time being, LG U+ is giving out free three-month Netflix trials to new subscribers of its IPTV plans worth at least 15,400 won ($13.50) per month until the end of this year.
Korea’s mobile carriers have shifted their focus to the IPTV business as sales from traditional mobile phone subscriptions faltered after the government pressured them to make monthly phone bills cheaper last year.
The government fuel tax cut, which was implemented to ease the burden on rising crude oil prices, has turned out to be more effective than initially expected. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy on Sunday, the average price of gasoline at gas stations nationwide was 1,575.2 won ($1.40) per liter during the second week of November. This is an 85.2 won, or 5 percent, drop, from the 1,660.4 won average just a week earlier.
Diesel prices have also dropped to an average 1,419.2 won per liter, down 56.2 won, or 3.8 percent, from the first week of this month, when it was an average 1,475.4 won for the same amount.
On Saturday, the ministry said the average price of gasoline had further fallen to 1,556.8 won per liter – 133.5 won less than the 1,690.3 won it sold for on Nov. 5, the night before the government’s fuel tax cut went into effect.
On average, the government cut 15 percent off of all fuel taxes including gasoline and diesel in the hopes of easing the burden created by rising international crude prices. It was the first fuel tax cut adopted in a decade.
“As the situation [of low-income households and small and medium-sized enterprises] becomes more difficult with rising international crude prices, we have decided to aim for a psychological effect that will help the economy by increasing disposable incomes,” Ko Hyoung-kwon, deputy finance minister said in late October.
Among gas stations, the government-supported Altteul Gas Station saw the biggest drop in prices – its gasoline costs 135.5 won less than it did on Nov. 5.
Other major brands including SK, GS, S-Oil and Hyundai Oilbank have cut gasoline prices by 133.3 won.
By region, Jeju lowered its gasoline prices the most. The island has seen a 169.4 won drop in average price compared to Nov. 5. Daejeon followed, as prices have fallen an average of 149.6 won, while Incheon came in third after seeing a 142 won drop.
Seoul gas stations on average lowered their prices by 134.9 won while Gyeonggi gas prices fell by 137.2 won per liter.
Seoul and Gyeonggi account for 39 percent of all fuel sold in the country.
However, as of Saturday, 173 gas stations around the country – 1.5 percent of the nation’s gas stations – have not taken part in lowering fuel prices. The ministry said that these gas stations failed to deplete all of the gas that they had stockpiled before the Nov. 6 fuel tax cut was implemented.
Hyundai Motor premiered the latest version of its Santa Fe SUV at an international auto exhibition in Guangzhou on Friday in its latest move to try and woo Chinese buyers. It also rolled out a reshuffle of its Chinese business. Vice President Lee Byung-ho was promoted to president of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors’ China Business Division, the carmaker announced Friday.
The automaker showcased the fourth-generation Santa Fe, which has been strategically modified for the Chinese market. The new edition is the most futuristic Santa Fe on the market anywhere in the world, including the models sold in Korea.
After hitting rock bottom in the past two years due to diplomatic tension over the deployment of the U.S.-led Terminal High Altitude Area Defense antimissile system in Korea, Hyundai Motor has been slow in recovering sales in China. In the third quarter, it sold 177,000 units, a 6.2 percent year-on-year drop.
Hyundai Motor said it has installed a fingerprint scanner on the door – a global first – allowing owners to lock and unlock the door without a car key. The fingerprint scanner can also turn on the engine and automatically adjust the seat and side mirror to the owner’s liking.
The new version is also bigger than the latest Santa Fe that launched in Korea in February.
The length was extended by 160 millimeters (6.3 inches) and the wheelbase by 100 millimeters, enlarging the space for the second and third row passengers. Other smart car technology included in the vehicle is similar to the version available in Korea.
The car is equipped with a Rear Occupant Alert system that alerts the driver when a passenger is left behind in the back seat through ultrasound detection. It is the first time Hyundai Motor has installed such a system in cars launched in China.
The Santa Fe is also equipped with Safe Exit Assist, which prevents collisions with oncoming traffic when exiting the vehicle.
The car is also equipped with voice recognition through a partnership with Chinese IT giant Baidu.
“The latest Santa Fe stands in the center of Hyundai Motor’s continuous attempts and innovation toward the ever-changing needs of the customer,” said Beijing Hyundai in a statement. “The Santa Fe will bring about changes in the premium SUV market in China with its top-notch safety and smart car features.”
The car will go on sale starting in the first quarter of next year in China.
Hyundai Motor set up a 1,820-square-meter (19,590-square-feet) booth at the Guangzhou International Auto Exhibition where its latest lineup of 18 cars, including a concept version of the large Grandmaster SUV and N series vehicles, such as the Veloster N and i20 WRC, were on display.
It also showed off its hydrogen-powered Nexo SUV.
The auto exhibition in Guangzhou runs from Saturday to Nov. 25.
Mobile carrier KT announced its annual reshuffle Friday as it actively prepares to gain a strong foothold in 5G-related activities in 2019. The next-generation 5G mobile network is expected to be 20 times faster than the current 4G network. Mobile carriers are working to achieve commercialization of the technology by March next year.
KT’s 5G business team used to be part of the company’s marketing division. Following the reshuffle, the team is in charge of the carrier’s entire mobile business.
Its main role will be developing customer services using the 5G network.
A new 5G Platform Development team will be part of the marketing division. It is tasked with devising services for corporate clients, including those related to smart cities, smart factories and connected cars.
As for changes at the top, former chief secretary, Kim In-heo, 55, was appointed president of KT. Kim has been noted inside the company for his practical working style and flexibility with regard to fixed customs.
Naver’s iconic green search bar may one day be a thing of the past – at least in the mobile app.
Korea’s most popular portal site is experimenting with a new tool called the Green Dot that allows users to search for information not only by text, but also by voice, location and photos.
The Green Dot was first unveiled last month. It is what the company calls an “interactive search” button located at the bottom of Naver’s app.
When touched, the button opens a small window that offers various search functions like voice recognition, music recognition and recommendation on trending restaurants and bars nearby. The user can also add short-cuts to frequently used Naver services, from blogs to shopping.
“Naver’s green search bar was developed at a time when searching online through PCs was about keywords and being linked to [web pages with] text information,” said Kim Seung-eon, the portal giant’s design head, at the Naver Design Colloquium held Friday in Dongdaemun, central Seoul. The annual event invites Naver designers to share their strategies and design insight.
“But now with mobile, [portals] aren’t just about new information; we listen to music, reserve restaurants and use services that are closely linked to our daily lives. There are so many usages now and ways to input information. The Green Dot integrates all these; it’s the start of a new way to search and connect.”
Kim added that the Green Dot will be the new design identity of Naver and a core function related to services coming in the future.
The portal giant also shared the results of its first page overhaul on its mobile app.
Last month, Naver introduced a new first page of its mobile app that left out news and trending keywords, leaving nothing but the search bar, weather information and the Green Dot.
Its explanation was that the change was purposed to put a larger emphasis on searching, which accounts for 60 percent of why users turn on the Naver app. The change was available as a beta service.
According to Naver, some users felt that the blank space was awkward, but the beta service had also showed meaningful results: the amount of time users spent on the app increased 15 percent and the number of searches rose 20 percent.
South Korean retailers benefited from another record-setting Nov. 11 Singles Day shopping extravaganza led by Alibaba Group of China. Since 2009, Chinese retail giant Alibaba Group has transformed Singles’ Day, which falls on Nov. 11, into an online shopping festival with large discounts offered for 24 hours.
Over 40 percent of shoppers made purchases from international brands, said Alibaba.
Among the countries that sold products to Chinese customers on Sunday, Korea ranked third after Japan and the United States.
Korea placed at No. 3 on the list in 2016, but fell two ranks last year after the deployment of the U.S.-led terminal high altitude area defense (Thaad) antimissile system.
The incident soured relations between the two countries and provoked a boycott movement against domestic brands in China.
The exact volume of Korean goods purchased on Sunday was not disclosed, but it was evident that the shopping spree had an impact on local companies, as some of them reported record-breaking figures on Monday.
Korea’s top beauty and personal care brand LG Household & Health Care Ltd. said on Monday that overall cosmetics sales during this year’s around-the-clock shopping gala rose 50 percent from a year ago at Tmall Global, a major e-commerce platform managed by China’s Alibaba Group.
Sales of household items also jumped 73 percent during the same period.
LG Household & Health Care raised 23 billion won (US$20.3 million) in sales of its flagship cosmetics label the History of Whoo during this year’s Singles Day event, up 72 percent from last year.
Sales of luxury cosmetics brand su:m37 also jumped 82 percent during the same period mainly driven by increased demand for its Water-Full skin-care product line.
The brand sold 26,500 sets of Water-Full line on November 11, up 208 percent from a year ago. It sold 24,400 sets of its Time Energy skin moisturizing solution, up 48 percent during the same period.
Korea’s largest cosmetics company AmorePacific Corp. also scooped up sales on Sunday event.
Sales of Yoonjo Essence, an activating serum of its premium cosmetics brand Sulwhasoo, hit 10,000 in just 60 seconds after launching sales at Tmall.
Pre-order sales of Hera’s Rouge Holic lipstick also quintupled this year from last year.
Korea’s fashion and retail conglomerate E-Land Group that manages 19 brands on Tmall raised 72.3 billion won in revenue on November 11 alone.
Korea’s largest manufacturer of instant noodles Nongshim Co. also raked in record sales of 800 million won at Alibaba’s online shopping mall Taobao on the event day, more than tenfold from its daily average sales and up 25 percent from last year.
The company attributed record sales to its top-sellers Shin Ramyun and Kimchi Ramyun.
Alibaba clocked in sales of US$30.8 billion in the 24-hour shopping gala that began at 12 a.m. Sunday, beating last year’s US$25.3 billion.
SK Innovation is supplying electric car batteries to Volkswagen Group along with existing suppliers LG Chem and Samsung SDI, the Korean battery maker said Wednesday. The Volkswagen Group brands plan to launch 50 new fully electric models by 2025, and the group said it needs more battery supplies in a statement Tuesday. SK Innovation was the last of the four battery suppliers selected by the carmaker.
SK Innovation will start supplying batteries to Volkswagen cars in Europe from 2019. LG Chem and Samsung SDI are also strategic partners in the auto company’s European operations.
From 2022, SK Innovation will also supply batteries for the North American market.
The group’s electric car production in China will source batteries from Chinese partner Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) from 2019.
SK Group’s battery arm is planning on covering Volkswagen orders by setting up new facilities in Europe and the United States. Currently, the company is mulling three locations in the United States, it said, without giving details about the production capacity or the amount of investment. As for its newly-planned European plant, the company said it is considering multiple locations including Hungary, where it is already building a plant.
When all planned factories are in place, SK Innovation’s battery production capacity will increase to 20 gigawatt-hours per year by 2022, the company said. Despite being a latecomer to the market, SK Innovation has been rapidly expanding its battery business. Daimler and Kia Motors are also using SK batteries.
Its share of this year’s global battery market, excluding China, was 2.2 percent based on accumulated battery sales through the end of September, according to data from market tracker SNE Research, growing from 1.4 percent the same period last year.
LG Chem is still the largest local player, with a 17.5 percent market share, followed by Samsung SDI, with an 8.2 percent market share.
“With SK Innovation, LG Chem, Samsung and CATL, we have found strong partners for the long-term supply of cells for our electric vehicles,” said Stefan Sommer, a Volkswagen board member responsible for components and procurement.
Hyundai Motor, Korea’s largest carmaker by sales, said Thursday it has invested in a U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) company to jointly develop new products. In the investment, Hyundai Motor and Top Flight Technologies will jointly seek business opportunities in the global high-end aerial drone market, the company said in a statement.
“In addition to solving the challenges of longer-duration flight for quadcopters, Top Flight is developing the technologies needed to enable new solutions in aerial logistics and mapping which could be useful in Hyundai’s future business,” John Suh, vice president of Hyundai CRADLE in Silicon Valley, said in the statement.
Hyundai CRADLE is Hyundai Motor’s corporate venture and open innovation business in the United States.
“Hyundai’s investment in Top Flight confirms its commitment to autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions, whether on the road or in the air. We fully believe that Hyundai’s world-class assembly and automation capabilities will help spur the production and deployment of aerospace-grade UAVs, more efficiently than ever,” Top Flight Chief Executive Long Phan said in the statement.
The U.S. start-up is unrivaled in the fields of cutting-edge unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with small-sized gasoline engines that can extend flight range by charging a battery, it said. Hyundai didn’t provide how much it has invested in the U.S. start-up.
The global UAV market is expected to grow from $5.6 billion in 2016 to $12.2 billion in 2019 and to $22.1 billion in 2026, the statement said. As UAVs are mainly used for military purposes, there is big growth potential for the commercial drone market. At present, the drone delivery services market is in the early stages of development. The concept of drone delivery services began with Amazon in December 2013. The U.S. retailer said its drone service is designed to deliver packages to customers as quickly as possible using UAVs.
