Retail News CRM

Tag: Korea

  • Shinsegae and Shilla to fight out Incheon T1 duty free bids

    Shinsegae and Shilla to fight out Incheon T1 duty free bids

    Shinsegae Duty Free and The Shilla Duty Free will fight out the contest for two Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 duty free contracts on offer, despite rival Lotte Duty Free tabling the highest bids in each case.

    The tenders followed incumbent Lotte Duty Free’s resignation from both concessions in February.

    As reported, four retailers – Lotte Duty Free, The Shilla Duty Free, Shinsegae Duty Free and Doota Duty Free – bid for the two packages, DF1 and DF5.

    While Lotte Duty Free submitted the highest offers for both packages (see figures below), Incheon International Airport Corporation opted to shortlist only Shilla and Shinsegae. The two retailers must now table their business plans to Korea Customs Service and Incheon International Airport Corporation by 5 June. A winner will be selected in mid-June.

    A Shinsegae Duty Free spokesperson confirmed the shortlist to The Moodie Davitt Report. A Lotte Duty Free spokesman said the company was “despondent”, given that it had tabled the highest bid.

    Lotte’s DF1 bid was +1.6% higher than Shinsegae’s and +27.2% higher than Shilla’s. On DF5, Lotte’s offer was +13.2% better than Shinsegae’s and +38.8% above that of arch-rival Shilla.

    Some Korean duty free market sources expressed shock at the result. One veteran retailer told The Moodie Davitt Report, “Lotte must have been penalised for dropping the [former] concession in the mid-term. Yet as evaluations are based 60% on the business plan and 40% on the monetary offer, it is not easy to understand that Lotte did not qualify… especially as it had paid a KW187 billion penalty (for its premature exit).

    “There is no specific regulation or degrading for a company which gives up a government concession in the mid-term.”

    One source told The Moodie Davitt Report, “The most probable scenario is that the licence evaluation committee of Korea Customs Service will award DF1 to Shinsegae and DF5 to Shilla in order to avoid potential monopoly issues [as Shilla also holds the rest of the airport’s P&C business reserved for major retailers -Ed].”

    Not surprisingly, Shilla is known to dispute that position. Korea’s Fair Trade Commission will not have a problem with the proposed structure, sources close to the company believe. Shilla could reasonably point to many other international airports which have a single retailer for one category (or in fact for all categories), the sources contend.

    Lees ook:

  • BGF Retail outlines KRW30bn online investment

    BGF Retail outlines KRW30bn online investment

    BGF, owner of Korean c-store chain CU, has boosted its stake in online grocery business Hello Nature.

    Founded in 2012, Hello Nature offers compact packaged-grocery deliveries. It was bought by SK Planet in 2016. Its sales reached US$9 million last year.

    Investing 30 billion won (US$28 million) for a controlling 50.1 per cent stake, BGF will run Hello Nature as a joint venture.

    “The online premium grocery shopping market is a blue ocean which has been growing rapidly every year,” said BGF chief Lee Keon-jun.

    BGF aims to build Hello Nature into the leading online grocery platform within the next five years by connecting its delivery service to 13,000 CU stores across Korea.

    Hello Nature will also consider consider expanding into the offline market.

    Demand for online delivery services for fresh food in Korea has been increasing rapidly thanks to the growing number of one-person households – 5.28 million in 2016, accounting for 27.8 per cent of all household types in the country.

    Lees ook:

  • Etude House and Nature Republic debut in Saudi Arabia

    Etude House and Nature Republic debut in Saudi Arabia

    Two Korean cosmetics brands Nature Republic and Etude House have opened their first outlets in Saudi Arabia.

    Nature Republic has signed an agreement with local retailer Fawaz Alhokair to open the first store in the capital city of Riyadh, the first of up to five outlets in the country. Saudi Arabia is the brand’s 19th market.

    Etude House has also made it to Riyadh with the first store at the Granada Center after a successful launch in UAE and Kuwait earlier this year.

    The Middle East’s cosmetics market is expected to reach US$36 billion by 2020 while Saudi Arabia’s cosmetics market has grown 15 per cent annually in recent years and is the largest beauty market in the region.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Shinsegae bets strong to replace Lotte’s Incheon duty free

    Shinsegae bets strong to replace Lotte’s Incheon duty free

    Shinsegae is going all out to acquire licenses to operate duty free shops at Incheon International Airport after its rival Lotte’s bid fell through.

    The bid is understood by many as Shinsegae‘s aim to expand its presence in the still lucrative and growing duty free industry.

    According to industry officials, the Incheon International Airport Corp. (IIAC) has narrowed the candidates for the licenses to Shinsegae DF and Hotel Shilla. The two filed their intent to operate duty free outlets at the DF1 bloc for cosmetics and perfumes and DF5 bloc for clothing in the airport’s Terminal 1.

    Lotte and Doosan also vied for the operating licenses, but failed to make it to the final list. The Korea Customs Service will review the bids and select the operators for each of the blocs next month.

    Lotte Duty Free previously ran those blocs, but in February it gave up its licenses citing high rent, standing at around 800 billion won (US$743.5 million) a year.

    Lotte’s move was interpreted as an attempt to lower its rent for the blocs by renegotiating the deal, as it continued to accumulate losses due largely to the high rent it agreed to pay in its previous deal. The 800 billion won rent for the blocs is nearly four times higher than the minimum guarantee the IIAC wants this time for those blocs, which is 200 billion won.

    According to sources, Lotte made the highest bid at 280 billion won for DF1 and 69 billion won for DF5 in the four-way battle.

    Following were Shinsegae with 276 billion won for DF1 and 61 billion won for DF5, Shilla with 220 billion won for DF1 and 50 billion won for DF5. Doosan’s Doota Duty Free bid 192.5 billion won for DF1 and 53 billion won for DF5.

    Despite Lotte placing the highest bid, it lost points in other criteria, such as management ability and its withdrawal from the previous duty free license deal driving the airport authority to lose faith in Lotte, industry officials said.

    As Lotte failed to make the final list, the final selection next month will bring a fundamental change to the domestic duty free industry.

    As of last year, Lotte was Korea’s largest duty free operator by sales with a 41.9 percent market share. It was followed by Shilla with a 26.8 percent share and Shinsegae with a 12.7 percent share.

    The combined sales of DF1 and DF5 blocs in 2017 stood at 900 billion won, which was approximately 6.4 percent of Korea’s total duty free sales last year.
    This means Lotte’s market share will drop to 36 percent. If Shilla wins the licenses for both blocs, its market share will go over 30 percent, or if Shinsegae wins it will reach a 20 percent market share.

    Shinsegae’s surge

    Depending on the customs service’s selection, Shinsegae will operate up to four outlets at the airport. It currently has the DF7 bloc in the first terminal and DF3 bloc in the second terminal.

    Though the duty free business does not have many chances to expand because of regulatory issues and five-year licenses, Shinsegae has expanded its presence rapidly in the domestic market, encroaching on the market shares of Lotte and Shilla.

    Shinsegae’s market share stood at 2.8 percent in 2014 but quickly rose to 12.7 percent last year, increasing by 10 percentage points during the period.

    Its surge was largely attributable to the solid numbers from its Myeong-dong branch, which brought in 1.35 trillion won in sales last year. The branch opened in May 2016 but quickly hit its stride thanks to luxury brands such as Dior, Cartier and Fendi.

    The branch is also expected to house Rolex and Chanel in the near future, casting a rosy outlook for its sales. Shinsegae’s strategy to focus on Japanese and Southeast Asian customers also served its growth well.

    While other duty free outlets were hit hard by the decline of inbound Chinese customers last year due to the diplomatic friction between Korea and China over a U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, Shinsegae managed to post high numbers thanks to their relatively low reliance on Chinese customers.

    “Shinsegae’s intent to make the airport a world famous tourist attraction seemed to earn points in IIAC’s review,” a Shinsegae official said. “Also, the company’s portfolio in Myeong-dong contributed to its shortlisting.

    Lees ook:

  • Play for your makeup at Chanel’s Coco Game Center

    Play for your makeup at Chanel’s Coco Game Center

    Retro games such as Pacman and Pong take on a new twist at the Coco Game Center in Pacific House until June 18.

    After last year’s hit Coco Cafe, Chanel Beauty has followed up with another fun beauty concept.

    With previous stops in Seoul, Tokyo, Shanghai and Singapore, the Coco Game Center has arrived in Hong Kong. Inspired by Japanese arcades, the pop-up features games that highlight Chanel Beauty collections.

    The Bubble Game features the Hydra skincare line, while Beauty Ride features the latest range from Rouge Coco. The Beauty Lounge offers six new shades of Rouge Allure Ink.

    Visitors can also find out what happens when they put moisturiser on Mario or lip rouge on Pac-Man.

    Check the gallery of the event below (6 images) :

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Samsung Electronics shares jump on sale

    Samsung Electronics shares jump on sale

    Samsung Electronics shares shot up 2.42 percent on Thursday over the previous day to close at 50,700 won ($47), largely due to two of the chaebol’s financial affiliates selling their stakes in the tech giant on Wednesday.

    The market sees the sale as a step toward changing Samsung’s complicated governance structure. Samsung Group has been under pressure to reform its governance structure, which relies on webs of cross-shareholding ties among its affiliates.

    Financial Services Commission Chairman Choi Jong-ku repeatedly stressed that it would be best if Samsung Life Insurance, the de facto financial holding company of Samsung Group, sold off its stake in Samsung Electronics.

    Fair Trade Commission Chairman Kim Sang-jo, in a meeting with executives of the top 10 conglomerates in Seoul on May 10, also warned that Samsung could face big consequences if it does not change its governance structure.

    “The worst decision [Samsung Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong] can make is allowing time to go by without making any decision,” Kim said.

    In response, Samsung Life Insurance on Wednesday sold 23 million Samsung Electronics shares valued around 1.18 trillion won. Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance sold 4 million Samsung Electronics shares valued around 210 billion won on the same day.

    J.P. Morgan and Goldman Sachs were in charge of selling the shares. Although neither company disclosed who purchased the shares, it is believed that foreign institutional investors were the buyers.

    The insurance companies sold their shares in Samsung Electronics because of a regulation that prevents financial affiliates of conglomerates from owning more than 10 percent of a nonfinancial company.

    Samsung Life Insurance had an 8.27 percent stake in Samsung Electronics and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance owns 1.45 percent stake. The combined stakes of the insurance companies was below the 10 percent threshold, at 9.72 percent.

    The sales reduced Samsung Life’s stake in the electronics company to 7.92 percent while the Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance’s stake dropped to 1.38 percent.

    Samsung Electronics has been retiring its own shares since last year. The company has canceled almost 18 million common shares and 3.23 million preferred shares, which is about half of the shares the company issued. Samsung Electronics plans to cancel an additional 8.99 million shares that it owns, worth around 40 trillion won, by the end of the year. The company announced the cancellation at the beginning of the year as a move to increase shareholder value.

    If the stock cancellations go as planned, the combined stakes that the two insurers have in Samsung Electronics would have been 10.45 percent, which would have violated the maximum 10-percent regulation.

    It’s estimated that the selloff on Wednesday will bring down the stake the insurers have to 9.99 percent when Samsung Electronics’ share cancellations go through.

    “Because of the stakes that the insurers have in Samsung Electronics, it is inevitable that they will have to sell the shares,” said Lee Byung-gun, a DB Financial Investment analyst. The selloff on Wednesday reduces the risk of Samsung running afoul of the law.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Auto sales pick up but GM, Renault struggle

    Auto sales pick up but GM, Renault struggle

    The outlook for Korea’s top automobile manufacturers has started to look up as overseas sales increase.

    It wasn’t all rosy, however, as GM Korea, which has been struggling to stay afloat since the beginning of the year, saw sales continue to fall.

    Hyundai Motor, Korea’s top automaker, said Friday its May sales rose 5.7 percent from a year earlier on recovering demand for its vehicles.

    Hyundai Motor sold 387,017 vehicles in May, up from 366,256 units a year earlier, helped by increased overseas sales, the company said in a statement.

    “The monthly results were helped by increased shipments of the Kona SUV to overseas markets, recovering sales in China and robust sales in emerging economies, such as Brazil and Russia,” the statement said.

    Domestic sales climbed 2.1 percent to 61,896 units last month from 60,607 a year ago, and overseas sales were up 6.4 percent to 325,121 from 305,649 during the same period, it said.

    In the January-May period, sales gained 2.4 percent to 1.83 million units from 1.79 million units a year earlier, the statement said.

    Kia Motors said its car sales rose 9 percent in May from a year earlier on recovering demand for its vehicles.

    Kia Motors sold 247,176 vehicles last month, up from 226,826 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

    The monthly sales were buoyed by increased domestic and overseas sales of new and upgraded models, such as the Stonic subcompact SUV, the Stinger sports car, the Rio subcompact and the Sportage SUV, it said.

    Domestic sales climbed 8.1 percent on-year to 47,046 units in May from 43,522. Overseas sales were up 9.2 percent to 200,130 from 183,304 over the same period, the statement said.

    In the January-May period, Kia’s sales grew 3.9 percent to 1.13 million autos from 1.09 million units in the year-ago period, it said.

    Renault Samsung Motors saw its May sales fall 22 percent from a year earlier due to weaker demand for its vehicles.

    Renault Samsung sold 16,101 vehicles last month, down from 20,517 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

    Domestic sales dropped 20 percent on-year to 7,342 units last month from 9,222 units. Exports also declined 23 percent to 8,759 from 11,295 during the same period, the statement said.

    In the January-May period, overall sales fell 4.6 percent on-year to 104,097 autos from 109,080, it said. The company’s current lineup includes the SM3 compact, the all-electric SM3 Z.E. sedan, the QM3 subcompact SUV and the SM5, SM6 and SM7 sedans.

    Renault SA owns an 80 percent stake in Renault Samsung.

    SsangYong Motor sales rose 4.6 percent last month from a year earlier, helped by increased exports.

    SsangYong Motor sold 12,920 vehicles in May, up from 12,349 units a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

    Domestic sales fell 5.2 percent to 9,709 units last month from 10,238 a year earlier. But exports jumped 53 percent to 3,229 units from 2,111 during the same period, it said.

    In the January-May period, the maker of the Rexton and Tivoli sport utility vehicles sold a combined 54,514 vehicles, down 5.4 percent from 57,648 a year earlier, the company said.

    Indian carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. owns a 72.85 percent stake in SsangYong Motor.

    GM Korea saw sales fall 5.1 percent from a year earlier due to weaker domestic demand.

    GM Korea sold 40,879 vehicles last month, down from 43,085 units a year earlier, mainly because of a sharp decline in domestic sales, the company said in a statement.

    Domestic sales plunged 35 percent to 7,670 units last month from 11,854 a year ago. Exports rose 6.3 percent to 33,209 units from 31,231 during the same period, it said.

    The sales slump was mainly affected by weaker local demand for the Cruze subcompact and midsize Malibu sedans, the statement said.

  • Hyundai Motor plans to join Gwangju-run factory

    Hyundai Motor plans to join Gwangju-run factory

    Hyundai Motor on Friday announced plans to join Gwangju’s city-owned automobile factory project, and the automaker’s labor union is putting up a fight over the plan’s potential effect on employees’ wages.

    Korea’s largest automaker said that it submitted a letter of intent to invest in the construction of the factory, along with other companies, in response to Gwangju’s request.

    “In regard to Gwangju’s business, which will be built inside the Bitgreen National Industrial Complex and aims to foster the local economy and jobs, [Hyundai Motor] proposed a consultation to review the business’ validity and investment possibility,” Hyundai Motor wrote in its letter of intent.

    The carmaker will not participate in the joint venture’s management and will only invest in a certain amount of the project. The workers will be employed by the city of Gwangju.

    The amount of production from the Gwangju plant will depend on the market demand for the car that Hyundai plans to produce there, according to the automaker.

    Gwangju’s auto factory project is slated to be completed by 2020. It is part of the city’s initiative to expand employment, though the salaries at the plant will be half of the Korean auto industry’s average. The plant will be the first automobile factory built in Korea since Renault Samsung Motors’ Busan factory in 1998.

    Hyundai Motor’s participation is likely to send a jolt to the labor market, as employees at the plant will receive an average of 40 million won ($37,233) in annual pay. This is less than half of the wages of unionized Hyundai Motor employees, which are estimated to be around 90 million won a year.

    Hyundai Motor’s labor union on Friday requested the carmaker withdraw the proposal, claiming that its participation in the project would cause a drop in the average wages of Hyundai Motor workers.

    It warned Hyundai Motor that it would stage a protest if the company doesn’t withdraw the letter of intent.

    “The Gwangju employment [project] will standardize full-time workers’ annual salary at around 40 million won,” the labor union said in a statement Friday. “The employees are neither contract workers nor full-time workers, but somewhere in the middle.”

    Although the city government would be employing the workers at the new factory, if Hyundai Motor becomes the biggest shareholder in the joint venture, the lower wages at the Gwangju factory could have an effect on the automaker’s unionized employees.

    Hyundai Motor’s unionized employees’ high wages have been a big headache for the carmaker, which is why the company hasn’t invested much in domestic plants recently and has been steering its capital toward its overseas manufacturing facilities.

    According to industry data, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors’ Korean production fell to 44 percent of total production in 2017, compared to 73.3 percent in 2006.

    Gwangju’s new auto plant is likely to receive about 500 billion won in investment and will be able to produce about 100,000 cars a year. It will provide jobs to around 12,000 people through direct or indirect employment. Hyundai Motor’s stake in the new factory will likely stay below 20 percent.

    “The plant will not be operated by Hyundai Motor,” an official from the Gwangju city government said.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • CJ opens store for prepared meals

    CJ opens store for prepared meals

    Korean foods retailer CJ CheilJedang has opened its first “home meal replacement” (HMR) store, called CJ Olive Market, in Seoul.

    The 443sqm store is located at CJ CheilJedang headquarters building, and is divided into two areas – a restaurant where customers can buy food from a vending machine or cooked on-site by chefs – and a grocery store.

    Th team of CJ chefs will come up with new menu items every two months.

    CJ has also developed a smartphone app that allows customers to buy products by scanning codes printed on products or table mats in the store.

    “Our HMR business will evolve into a future-oriented business that suggests integrated menus for home meals,” said Son Eun-kyung, head of CJ CheilJedang’s food marketing division.

    The company also plans to develop a virtual reality store.

    CJ CheilJedang hopes its new HMR range will help it grow sales to US$3.3 billion by 2020.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Asia safes Michael Kors performance

    Asia safes Michael Kors performance

    Asia proved the strongest growth market for premium apparel and accessories retailer Michael Kors last year, offsetting ongoing weakness in its largest market, the Americas.

    Asian sales increased 17.5 per cent to US$137.7 million in the fourth quarter and were up 33.7 per cent to $469 million for the year.

    Michael Kors sales and profit numbers released overnight included a better than expected fourth quarter, but flat forecasts for the year ahead disappointed analysts.

    Net income for the three months ended March 31 was $44.5 million, a significant improvement over a $26.8 million loss during the same period last year.

    Fourth-quarter comparable Michael Kors sales were up 2.3 per cent on strength in accessories, footwear and men’s categories, but fell 1.7 per cent on a currency-corrected basis.

    Michael Kors has been investing heavily in transitioning its business model following the acquisition of Jimmy Choo last year, with chairman and CEO John D Idol saying a solid foundation had been created.

    “We created a global luxury group with the acquisition of Jimmy Choo and completed the first year of our Runway 2020 strategic plan for the Michael Kors brand, ending the year significantly ahead of our expectations,” he said.

    “Looking to fiscal 2019, we have a number of initiatives planned to drive growth in both of our luxury brands.

    The company expects building momentum to deliver first quarter revenue of around $1.13 billion, with a $140-$145 million contribution from Jimmy Choo’s 182 stores.

    Neil Saunders said the addition of Jimmy Choo had masked weakness in Michael Kors sales figures for last year.

    “While the headline growth number from Michael Kors looks strong … it is flattered by the addition of Jimmy Choo sales; when these are stripped out, the growth plummets to a lacklustre 0.6 per cent,” Saunders said.

    “This anemic underlying growth rate comes off the back of a dire performance last year when revenues plunged by 11.2 per cent. Taking account of all these things, the fashion brand is ending its fiscal year with soft growth.”

    Store renovations, expansion into new luxury concepts, a renewed focus on e-commerce and the launch of a new loyalty program have emerged as key pillars of the company’s 2020 strategic plan.

    In comparison, Americas sales declined by 2.5 per cent to $342.8 million in the fourth quarter and by two per cent to $1.67 billion for the year.

    “Perhaps the most damning figure is the Americas retail sales number,” Saunders said.

    “A particularly worrying outcome given the 18 per cent decline posted in the prior year. In our view, this number clearly indicates that Michael Kors is not back to full strength and still has a lot of work to do on its proposition.”

    Encouragingly, retail growth and the addition of Jimmy Choo bolstered margins, resulting in a 14.5 per cent increase in gross profit.

    Jimmy Choo sales were $107.9 million worldwide in the fourth quarter and $222.6 million for the full year, with Europe and the Middle East driving turnover.

    There were 1011 stores in Michael Kors business as at March 31, including 829 Michael Kors stores.

  • Lotte unifies all fashion labels under single business

    Lotte unifies all fashion labels under single business

    Lotte, the South Korean retail giant, has announced the unification of all its fashion businesses under the group’s apparel affiliate to secure competitiveness in the local fashion industry.

    This new approach to pursue the efficiencies derived from centralised management received a nod of approval from the company’s investors, confirmed the retailer. Lotte Shopping Co., the operator of the conglomerate’s department store chain, said shareholders of its fashion business unit NCF Co. approved the company’s decision to change the corporate name to Lotte GFR (Lotte Global Fashion Retail) on Thursday.

    “We will be able to create synergy by combining the capabilities of a retailer and a fashion company,” Seol Poong-jin, head of Lotte GFR, said.

    As a result of this move, NCF, the department store’s global fashion business unit has been transferred to the new company. Founded in 2003, NCF was acquired by Lotte for 19 billion won (18 million dollars) in 2010.

    The new company explained that it now expects to generate 1 trillion won (924 million dollars) in revenue by 2022 through the development of new labels, imports of renowned overseas brands and active mergers and acquisitions.

    The two units’ combined sales currently stand at around 200 billion won (185 million dollars), with some 300 stores under operation at Lotte’s outlets.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Korean retail conglomerates eye pet business more and more

    Korean retail conglomerates eye pet business more and more

    South Korean retail conglomerates like CJ, Lotte and Shinsegae are catering more and more for pet owners as market demand grows.

    They have opened pet shops that offer products and services ranging from food and grooming services to even lodging for pets. They are also launching their own branded product lines.

    Shinsegae International’s household goods brand Jaju has launched its pet product line Jaju Pet, which plans to sell innovative pet products such as its “slow round bowl”, designed to help pets eat their food slowly, and plastic dog-waste bags that can be connected to a dog collar.

    E-Mart, Korea’s first discount retail outlet run by Shinsegae, has opened Molly’s Pet Shop with its offering of products and grooming services. It even has its own pet hotel. Since opening at the end of 2010, E-Mart now runs 35 Molly’s stores.

    Lotte Department Store opened a pet consulting service dubbed Zipsa in Gangnam in January. The store offers such services as dog-walking or pet-food delivery.

    Online shopping malls are also trying to catch some action. GS Shop has launched a “pet zone” on its mobile platform offering services that cater to various stages of a pet’s life cycle, while CJ Mall has its All Pet Club, offering food and clothing products as well as services such as lodging and funerals.

    Food companies Binggrae, Dongwon F&B Harim, KGC and Pulmuwon are also launching pet-food brands.

    Korea’s Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs says the pet industry has grown by more than 14 per cent on average a year since 2014. The market size was tabulated at KRW2.3 trillion (US$ 2.1 trillion) last year and is expected to surpass the KRW3 trillion won mark this year.

    The pet-loving population is estimated to be around 10 million individuals in 4.57 million households. Analysts say that as single or two-person households increase and as the aging population grows, society will see more people raising pets in the future.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Hyundai, Kia jump ahead in the U.S. hybrid market

    Hyundai, Kia jump ahead in the U.S. hybrid market

    Sales of hybrid vehicles made by Hyundai Motor and its affiliate Kia Motors in the United States rose 7 percent in the first four months of this year from a year earlier, industry data showed Sunday.

    The two Korean carmakers sold a combined 15,930 hybrid models in the January-April period, including 7,927 units of Kia’s Niro crossover and 4,836 units of Hyundai’s Ioniq, according to numbers released by hybridcars.com, a U.S. website.

    The robust sales of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors came as total sales of hybrid vehicles in the U.S. fell 11.6 percent on-year to 100,456 units.

    Hyundai and Kia trailed Japanese auto giant Toyota and Ford in hybrid sales, which took the first and second places in terms of sales with 56,791 units and 19,583 units, respectively.

    The brisk sales of Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors boosted their combined market share in hybrid vehicles to 15.9 percent in the January-April period, compared with 7.5 percent for the whole of 2011.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • HHI, Naver to build cheap robots

    HHI, Naver to build cheap robots

    Industrial robot company Hyundai Heavy Industries Holdings (HHI Holdings) inked a partnership with tech giant Naver on Monday to develop customer service robots that will sell for a fraction of the price of existing models.

    HHI Holdings, the holding company of Korean shipbuilder Hyundai Heavy Industries, will handle the production, sales and quality control of the service robots while Naver’s research and development arm Naver Labs will lead technology and software development.

    The two companies plan on commercializing two types of service robots within the year.

    One is a high-precision indoor mapping robot dubbed M1, and the other is a service robot called Around that can control its own movements around shops using a 3-D map created by M1.

    The two robots were initially developed by Naver Labs, but the industrial robot maker will help commercialize the products by producing them at its factory in Daegu.

    According to Naver, it was able to minimize the number of expensive sensors used for Around as the precise map data captured by M1 gives the self-driving robot a better sense of direction without including numerous sensors and cameras.

    “By cutting the use of sensors, we pulled down the manufacturing cost of our autonomous robot to about one-tenth that of competing robots in the market,” a Naver spokesperson said. “To commercialize the robots, one of our priorities was making them more affordable.”

    The spokesperson said that competing models cost over 100 million won ($93,132), largely due to their high-tech sensors and cameras.

    The robots will be deployed in a variety of commercial locations, like airports, shopping malls, gas stations, hotels and factories to guide customers and provide product information.

    In the future, the two companies will also work together on new robot concepts and take advantage of both companies’ affiliates and customer networks, HHI Holdings said in a statement.

    Service robots are becoming more common in Korea nowadays. Incheon International Airport started testing guiding robots and cleaning robots made by LG Electronics from last year, and it is preparing to officially launch them later this year. In January, local coffee shop chain Dal.komm Coffee released a coffee-making robot called b;eat.

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

    Lees ook:

  • Samsung’s IoT home comes with Jedi curtains

    Samsung’s IoT home comes with Jedi curtains

    Samsung C&T, the construction arm under the electronics giant, plans to make homes that are so smart they can recognize residents’ needs even before they call out for help.

    When this guests stepped into the 54-pyeong (1,921 square-feet) model house of Samsung C&T’s Raemian apartment brand in Munjeong-dong, southern Seoul, on Monday, the house welcomed the guest with a cool “air shower” to blow away fine dust.

    “There is a sensor in the ceiling of the entrance that can detect the fine dust level,” a spokesperson from Samsung C&T said. “If people coming in from outside increases the fine dust level in the house, the air shower [air blown from the ceiling] will be activated.”

    The air shower was just the beginning of the high-tech features that the “Raemian IoT Homelab,” the model house to be opened to the public from June, had to show off.

    The demonstration went from strength to strength as an employee entered the next room and waved his hand to automatically open the curtains. This “Star Wars” style magic trick was actually achieved as the internet-connected curtains communicated with the smart watches the demonstrators were wearing. The movement picked up by the gyro sensor in the watch triggered the curtains.

    Lazy home owners – or those who don’t like to wear watches – need not fear, as the smart curtains and other features in the house can also be controlled by voice command and a smartphone app.

    According to Baek Jong-taek, a senior vice president at Samsung C&T, most of the concepts will become reality by the end of this year and could be included in actual homes from next year. As the company is scheduled to begin presales of nine apartment complexes next year, they are the main targets for the latest Internet of Things (IoT) systems.

    “Whether all apartment units will be equipped with the system will depend on discussions with stakeholders such as apartment owners,” said Kim Myung-suk, vice president of the product design group at Samsung C&T. “The IoT system could be offered as a premium option only for residents that want extra smart home features.”

    To make the home – which includes 19 different IoT services and products – work, the company partnered with 12 other companies including speaker maker Harman International, electronic curtain provider Somfy, massage chair maker Bodyfriend, air quality management company Haatz and SK C&C, SK’s IT service unit with expertise in artificial intelligence.

    The constructor said it welcomes many more partners who would like to open up part of their software to make a richer smart home environment including Samsung rival LG Electronics.

    Monday’s event came as a surprise not only because top-notch IoT tech was introduced, but also because there have been rumors that Samsung plans to ditch its Raemian brand due to the low profitability of the reconstruction business. Last time it won a reconstruction order to build a Raemian apartment complex was in September 2015.

    Kim, however, made clear that Samsung has never said it would “not participate in reconstruction project bids” and added that the company “has been reviewing quality business opportunities.”

    Industry insiders said the event may be a sign that Samsung is back in the game with the upgraded Raemian brand.