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Tag: Korea

  • South Korea agrees to further open auto market to US

    South Korea agrees to further open auto market to US

    South Korea has agreed to further open its auto market to the United States as the two countries prepare to amend their six-year-old free trade agreement, its top trade negotiator said Monday. South Korea’s Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong said the United States will end tariffs on South Korean-made pick-up trucks in 2041 instead of 2021.

    Each American carmaker will also be able to export 25,000 additional vehicles to South Korea each year without having to comply with domestic safety regulations. South Korea also will ease emission standards for American cars shipped from 2021-2025, when the Asian country is due to set new import regulations.

    Kim said South Korea also won an exemption from increased import tariffs on steel products. The third-largest steel exporter to the United States after Canada and Brazil, South Korea was among 12 countries whose exports of steel and aluminum U.S. President Donald Trump recently said would be hit with heavy tariffs. But South Korea’s steel tariff exemption is subject to a quota of about 2.7 million tons of steel products a year, about 74 percent of its exports in 2017.

    The agreements in principle were announced Monday just hours after Trump said the United States was on the verge of amending its trade agreement with South Korea, which took effect in 2012. They came as a relief to South Korean industries, although the steel companies said they had wanted a larger quota of tariff-free exports to the United States.

    The auto sector is among the most contentious issues in South Korea’s trade dealings with the U.S. The Korean Automobile Manufacturers Association praised the government’s efforts to protect South Korean automakers and avoid major changes on sensitive issues such as adjusting tariffs.

    The revised agreement appears like significant concessions by South Korea but is expected to have little impact on its exports to the United States or its domestic auto market. No local auto companies export pick-up trucks made in South Korea to the United States, according to Kim.

    While U.S. carmakers will be able to ship 50,000 cars to South Korea annually, 25,000 more than before, without being subject to domestic safety regulations no American car brand sold more than 10,000 vehicles in South Korea last year.

    South Korean negotiators managed to avoid changes in treatment of its agriculture sector, a highly sensitive area in domestic politics.

    The two allies started working on amending the free trade pact in August after Trump blamed the arrangement for causing the U.S. trade deficit with South Korea.

    The president told reporters at a Friday news conference that trade deals are being made with various countries and then highlighted South Korea, a key economic and national security partner in Asia. The United States ran a $10.3 billion trade deficit with South Korea last year.

    While the United States posted a trade surplus of $10.7 billion with South Korea in the services sector, it recorded a goods trade deficit of $27.7 billion in 2016, leaving an overall deficit of $17.0 billion.

    After Trump’s remarks, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said he hoped a final agreement with Seoul would be announced next week.

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  • Hong Kong retail rents prepare to move into ‘early upswing’

    Hong Kong retail rents prepare to move into ‘early upswing’

    Hong Kong retail rents are expected to move into an “early upswing cycle” this year according to a regional real estate market briefing prepared by Savills.

    The report details commercial and residential property leasing trends across major Asian markets and as the accompanying tables show, compares occupancy costs of space as well.

    It groups major cities by upswing and downswing, late and early, showing that Hong Kong is at the end of its downswing in retail rental rates. Cities currently in early upswing are Manila, Guangzhou, Jakarta and Singapore. Hong Kong is grouped with Taipei, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Seoul, suggesting all those markets are about to turn.

    Savills says regional prime retail rents moved by between a decline of 1.8 per cent in Beijing and an increase of 5.9 per cent in Guangzhou last year.

    “Strong local retail consumption growth of 9.5 per cent year on year in the second half of the year following 10.5 per cent in the first half of the year supported the Guangzhou leasing market, while prime shopping malls began to re-position and upgrade, focusing more on entertainment and food & beverage,” said Savills in a brief commentary.

    “Again, Hong Kong’s prime shopping mall rents are considerably ahead of all other Asia-Pacific markets and are expected to move into an ‘early upswing’ cycle this year.”

    Savills says economic growth across Asia-Pacific continued to picked-up moderately in the second half of last year and the International Monetary Fund estimates that the “Emerging and Developing Asia” economies grew by 6.5 per cent over the year as a whole while China grew by 6.8 per cent and Japan’s economy grew by 1.8 per cent last year, from 0.9 per cent in 2016.

    “The improving global economic outlook and an accommodative monetary policy created momentum for business expansion,” said Savills.

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  • Korean fashion brand Hazzys to launch collaboration collection with Todd Selby

    Korean fashion brand Hazzys to launch collaboration collection with Todd Selby

    Korean casual fashion brand Hazzys has unveiled its second collection for Artist Edition in co-operation with photographer Todd Selby.

    Including more than 30 items for womenswear, menswear, golf wear, accessories and childrenswear, the Todd Selby collection will be available at Hazzys stores across Korea and online at LF Mall.

    Slide to view the gallery below :

    Launched last year, Hazzys’ Artist Edition is a global market collection created with international artists. The previous collection featured French artist Ramdane Touhami, who is also creative director of French cosmetics label Buly 1803.

    Hazzys is owned by LF Group, which also has such brands as Alegri, Daks Men, Il Corso, Maestro and TNGT.

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  • H&M opened on Tmall

    H&M opened on Tmall

    H&M China launched on Chinese e-commerce platform Tmall, complementing the Swedish clothing retailer’s 400-plus physical stores and HM.com Shop Online.

    “We are very happy to extend our collaboration with Alibaba by launching H&M and H&M Home on Tmall,” says H&M Greater China country manager Magnus Olsson.

    H&M opened its first store in Mainland China in 2007 and launched its online shop in 2014. The H&M group brand Monki has had strong development in China since its launch on Tmall, and this collaboration between the two groups, touted in December, is being extended to include both the H&M brand and H&M Home.

    During the launch period, H&M’s Tmall shop is offering more than 10,000 styles of fashion items including women’s, men’s, teens’ and children’s styles, plus H&M Home. As well as special opening offers, Tmall and H&M is offering exclusive pieces featured by TF Boys singer Wang Yuan, one of the stars in a H&M/Tmall campaign film.

    “With H&M’s experience in online and offline fashion retail, this collaboration signifies an important milestone for Tmall’s expansion, allowing more customers to enjoy the pleasure of interactive shopping,” says Alibaba VP for Tmall fashion and luxury Lv Jianmei.

    Procurement centres

    Meanwhile, Tmall Global plans to open six procurement centres across the world to help overseas vendors capture Chinese consumers’ booming appetite for newer and better imported goods, says Tmall president Jet Jing. They will be established in Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong, as well as regions of North America, Europe and Oceania.

    Jing’s announcement, at the annual Tmall Global 2018 Global Partners Summit in Hangzhou, did not disclose a time frame.

    Launched in 2014, Tmall Global is Tmall’s channel for cross-border e-commerce. The platform controls nearly a quarter of the market. With Alibaba’s expansive consumer analytics, Tmall Global provides overseas vendors insights into Chinese consumers’ shopping behaviour and preferences.

    China is the world’s second-largest consumer market following the US, according to Boston Consulting Group. The research consultancy notes China will see nearly $2 trillion in new consumption by 2021, and also projects China’s e-commerce cross-border trade to more than double to RMB620 billion (US$98 billion) in gross merchandise volume by next year from RMB305.5 billion in 2016.

    Global commitment

    Tmall Global, which already offers more than 18,000 brands from 74 countries and regions, is committed to attract even more international brands and vendors to sell their goods into China in the coming year, says Tmall Global GM Alvin Liu.

    New Retail, which harnesses new technologies to unify online and offline shopping, will serve as an important driver to power such growth by allowing vendors to engage with their customers in both spheres, Liu says.

    “Our goal is to give Chinese consumers the best shopping experience, so we select only the best quality for China,” says Liu.“We must discover new categories and find new products so Chinese consumers can find items that are best suited to their needs.”

    To achieve these goals, Tmall Global has pledged to boost the traceability of items sold on the platform. By using blockchain technology, consumers will be able to track their orders throughout every stage of the delivery process, starting from the factory at the country of origin.

    Secondly, the platform seeks to expedite the expansion of overseas fulfillment centres so smaller foreign brands can introduce their products to the Chinese market more quickly.

    The platform will also increase the use of bonded warehouses, where imported goods can be stored securely without import duties until the items are sent.

  • These 13 Korean Beauty Products Are Being Recalled From The Market

    These 13 Korean Beauty Products Are Being Recalled From The Market

    Unsafe levels of the heavy metal antimony have led to the South Korean government banning 13 cosmetics products.

    Some of the products, including eyebrow pencils from 3CE and Etude House, were previously available in Hong Kong and have been taken off store shelves.

    According to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety in South Korea, antimony at levels ranging from 10.1 parts per million (ppm) to 14.3ppm was found in the 13 products. The maximum legally permitted antimony level is 10ppm.

    After the department ordered recalls of the products, Amorepacific Group, whose brands accounted for six of the products, issued an apology to customers.

    Antimony is found in consumer products such as batteries and electrical appliances, and has been detected in food packaging and toys. Research has shown that chronic exposure to antimony in the air can lead to irritations of the skin, eyes and lungs. Drinking high levels of the metal in water could cause vomiting and abdominal pain.

    Among the products recalled were: 3CE Slim Eyebrow Pencil (chestnut brown) and Makeheal Naked Slim Brow Pencil (shades BR0203 and YL0801); Aritaum’s Full Cover Cream Concealer and Stick Concealer; Black Monster Homme Black Erasing Pen; Etude House’s AC Clean Up Mild Concealer; Skeda Concealer; Skinfood Cherry Full Lip Liner; and XTM Style Homme for Men Easy Stick Concealer.

  • FILA launches Pokémon-inspired sneakers

    FILA launches Pokémon-inspired sneakers

    Fila Korea has collaborated with Japanese VR game franchise Pokemon on a range of colourful sneakers.

    Available via Fila South Korea, the limited-edition shoes feature Pokemon characters including Bulbasaur, Charmander, Jigglypuff, Pikachu and Squirtle. The shoes are wrapped in a Pokeball-themed box with a badge and sticker of the corresponding Pokemon.

    There are just two models: the Fila Court Deluxe and Classic Kicks.

    Orders for Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines Singapore, Taiwan and other Asian countries as well as the US can be placed through Harum.io.

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  • Ministry working on faster internet with private sector

    Ministry working on faster internet with private sector

    Korea is pushing to commercialize 10-gigabit transfer speeds that are 10 times faster than Giga Internet, the fastest broadband service currently available in the country, the Ministry of Science and ICT said Sunday.

    The ministry would work closely with local IT companies to adopt 10-gigabit service, considered the core technology behind 5G wireless technology, virtual reality and augmented reality. Under the plan, the ministry plans to form a consortium to develop basic equipment and prepare networks for the rapid commercialization of 10-gigabit speeds.

    “The ministry hopes to achieve competitiveness in the ICT industry by commercializing 10-gigabit internet through close cooperation between public and private sectors,” a ministry official said.

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  • Microsoft predicts digital gains

    Microsoft predicts digital gains

    Microsoft Korea said Tuesday the ongoing digital revolution will add roughly $42 billion to Korea’s gross domestic product by 2021 and push up the country’s growth rate by 0.5 percent annually.

    The projection was based on research conducted with market tracker IDC Asia Pacific. IDC surveyed 1,560 decision makers in mid- and large-sized business organizations across 15 economies in the Asia-Pacific region on the economic impact of digital technologies.

    According to Microsoft, application of digital technologies like the cloud, big data and artificial intelligence to business processes will increase profit margins and productivity, and create new sources of revenue for companies.

    The study predicted that while about eight percent of Korea’s GDP was derived from digital products and services created directly though the use of digital technologies last year, that percentage is expected to surge to around 65 percent by 2021.

    “Digital transformation has a positive and measurable impact on Asia Pacific’s economy,” said Andrea Della Mattea, president of Microsoft Asia Pacific, in a press briefing during the Digital Transformation Summit hosted by the computer software company on Tuesday.

    “In fact, organizations are seeing tangible improvements from their digital transformation initiatives today between the ranges of 15 to 18 percent, which shows digital transformation is no longer an idea, but a reality.”

    According to the study, about 77 percent of companies in Korea are in the midst of digital transformations while only seven percent can be classified as so-called leaders. The leaders in digital transformation have full or progressive digital transformation strategies with at least a third of their revenue from digital products and services.

    Microsoft introduced Korean partners that are rapidly adapting to digitization by using the software company’s AI and cloud platforms, such as 365mc Hospital, which is known for liposuction surgeries.

    “Until recently, liposuction procedures depended almost entirely on the surgeon’s experience and capability,” said Kim Nam-chul, CEO of 365mc Hospital.

    “Hence our motion capture and artificial intelligence-assisted liposuction system was built to collect data and enhance precision and safety of liposuction procedures.”

    Other Korean partners of Microsoft include Samsung Electronics, LG CNS, NH Investment & Securities, Hyundai Motor and Asiana Airlines.

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  • Naver and Daum to track cryptocurrency prices

    Naver and Daum to track cryptocurrency prices

    Naver and Daum, Korea’s two largest search engines, will begin providing real-time cryptocurrency prices on their websites.

    Dunamu, an affiliate of Kakao which operates the cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, will run the service, the company said. Users can enter the name of a cryptocurrency in either search engine, and the current price will show up in the results.

    Service began on Daum, which is owned by Kakao, immediately after the announcement. Naver plans to start the service early next month.

    Users of KakaoTalk chat app could also check cryptocurrency prices inside the chat app.

    Dunamu already provides real-time cryptocurrency prices as well as information about highs and lows of the day, week, month and year, and transaction size on its own website.

    Its trading platform, Upbit, deals in 124 different cryptocurrencies.

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  • Korea coffee market grows to 512 cups per person

    Korea coffee market grows to 512 cups per person

    Korea’s domestic coffee market surpassed 10 trillion won in 2017 for the first time ever as demand for the brew continues to rise, market data showed.

    According to the Korea Customs Service (KCS), the country’s coffee market stood at 11.7 trillion won (US$10.8 billion), up more than threefold from around the middle 3 trillion won level a decade earlier.

    This translates into 26.5 billion cups of coffee being served last year and an average of 512 cups being consumed per person. Asia’s fourth-largest economy has 51.7 million people.

    Broken down, coffee mixes ranked No. 1, accounting for well over 13 billion cups, followed by fresh roasted coffee making up 4.8 billion cups, with the remainder being canned coffee and various coffee-flavored drinks.

    The latest data showed that while people drank more, the price of a cup of coffee has also shot up in the past 10 years, with more people drinking expensive brews than before.

    The average price for a cup of fresh roasted coffee stood at 1,636 won, with this market reaching 7.85 trillion won market last year, while in 2007, it stood at just 900 billion won.

    In the past, Korea’s domestic market was dominated by coffee mixes and instant coffee, but this changed with the opening of Starbucks and Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf stores in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

    Starbucks Coffee Korea, the local unit of the global beverage company, reported sales topping 1 trillion won in 2016, 17 years after it opened its first outlet here in 1999, with the company’s operating profit hitting the 100 billion won mark for the first time last year.

    Besides the growth of big coffee chains, local trends are leading to more stores operating their own roasting machines and becoming more high-end to meet consumers’ diversified demands.

    But per capita consumption of coffee is far below that of such countries as the United States.

  • AmorePacific apologizes for tainted cosmetic products

    AmorePacific apologizes for tainted cosmetic products

    AmorePacific Group, Korea’s largest cosmetics company, apologized Tuesday for selling products that contained high levels of the dangerous heavy metal antimony.

    The company said it is in the process of taking the products off store shelves.

    On Monday, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said that 13 cosmetic items from a local contract manufacturer were found to have levels of antimony that were beyond legal limits. The ministry ordered the companies selling the products to pull them from the market.

    Among the products, six were sold by AmorePacific’s brands – four concealers from Aritaum, and a concealer and an eyebrow pencil from Etude House.

    “As a manufacturer and distributor, we should have paid full attention to ensure quality control of all products sold,” AmorePacific said in a statement. “We are very sorry for causing inconvenience.

    “We will make every effort possible to minimize any further inconvenience in the process of retrieving the products.”

  • Hite Jinro opens pub in Hong Kong

    Hite Jinro opens pub in Hong Kong

    South Korean liquor maker Hite Jinro has opened its second exclusive offshore bar, in Hong Kong, as part of its outreach campaign with its beer and soju labels.

    In Lan Kwai Fong, its bar is its second overseas flagship store following the opening of Jinro soju bar in Hanoi, Vietnam, in October. The two-storey Hong Kong pub sells draft and regular beer labels Hite and Max as well as the company’s distilled rice liquor soju Chamisul.

    Hite Jinro exported 400,000 boxes of beer – each containing 20 500ml bottles – to Hong Kong last year, up 30 per cent from a year ago.

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  • Will Wearable Cards Gain Ground in Domestic Market?

    Will Wearable Cards Gain Ground in Domestic Market?

    All eyes are on whether “wearable credit cards,” which became a hit during the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang in South Korea, will be able to gain ground in the domestic market even after the closing ceremony of the Olympics. In the United Kingdom and Australia, the wearable card market is already being established.

    According to credit industry sources on March 20, Lotte Card Co. predicted earlier that 100,000 wearable payment devices for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics would be sold. However, more than 150,000 wearable payment devices have been sold as of the 18th of this month.

    Visa has developed three Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled wearable payment products for the Winter Olympics: A commemorative sticker, a pair of gloves, and an Olympic pin in November last year. Visa teamed up with Lotte Card, the financial arm of the South Korean-based retail giant Lotte Department Store to produce these new pre-paid payment wearables. To use the devices, the wearer can tap or bring the wearable near any NFC-enabled terminal or reader and the secured microchip and antenna embedded within the device will allow a contactless payment to be completed.

    Credit card companies are paying attention to whether wearable credit cards will be able to sustain the momentum from the Winter Olympics and create the market in South Korea.

    Foreign major financial companies and payment and settlement companies have been already preparing for various types of payment services, including wearable credit cards, in order to dominate the future payment market in advance. U.K.-based Barclaycard joined hands with numerous accessory brands to develop NFC-enabled wearable payment products, such as bracelets, smartphone cases and keychains. Australia’s Bankwest also launched ‘Halo’, a ring that enables users to make ‘tap and go’ payments as an alternative to cash or a contactless card. The ring itself is water-resistant and does not need to be charged. In addition, The “Pay per Gaze” payment service using Google Glass also was released.

    However, there are big challenges for the wearable payment market due to no standards established for contactless payments and compatibility with other devices. In fact, some users had trouble making a payment during the Winter Olympics when they put their NFC-enabled commemorative sticker on the center or the upper side of their smartphones. This is because it conflicted with their smartphone’s NFC features.

    An official from the credit card industry said, “Commercialization of wearable credit cards is not too distant when we solve problems with technology verification and complementarities with wearable types of cards.”

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  • Supermarket chains dominate offline shopping

    Supermarket chains dominate offline shopping

    Scale continues to play a major part in attracting shoppers both online and offline, a recent survey showed, with supermarket chains and large open market platforms coming top in consumers’ preferred retail outlets.

    According to a joint survey conducted by research firm Consumer Insight and Hanyang University’s retail research center, at least 80 percent of consumers said they went to supermarkets within the last month. The survey was conducted on some 15,000 Koreans from July 2017 to the end of January this year.

    Convenience stores came in second at 68 percent, followed by local grocery stores (55 percent), brand stores (45 percent) and traditional markets (39 percent).

    The report said 44 percent of the respondents said they generally tended to choose supermarket chains for offline shopping, while less than other offline shopping channels picked up shares of less than 10 percent each.

    “Some of respondents said they visit supermarket chains because it is well-located and easy to find. Some of them also cited familiarity as another reason, because its category of products and even interior provide similar ambience throughout all chains,” said Jung Kyung-sik who participated in the study.

    E-mart, discount store chain under retail giant Shinsegae, currently operates 145 stores across the country, while Homeplus and Lotte Mart have 142 stores and 123 stores, respectively.

    In terms of customer loyalty, which the report calculated based on preference and actual use, supermarket chains topped the list at 55 percent, while department stores (17 percent) and midsize grocery stores (16 percent) operated by retail giants such as Shinsegae followed. Midsized grocery stores, also known locally as “super supermarkets,” are those between 1,000 and 3,000 square meters.

    “Supermarket chains are dominating offline shopping channels, while other shopping platforms such as local grocery stores, convenience stores and traditional markets are left as secondary options,” the report read.

    Meanwhile, among online shopping channels, customers used open markets the most, with 79 percent of shoppers having used one, followed by social commerce (51 percent), home shopping (35 percent) and individual retailers’ online sites (30 percent).

    Customer loyalty was the highest, again, for open markets at 64 percent, compared to other online shopping channels such as social commerce (35 percent) and online retailers (26 percent). Home shopping, duty-free stores and multiplex shopping malls showed low customer loyalty at 10 percent, 8 percent and 7 percent, respectively.

    “Competition in both offline and online retail industries is quite obvious, as supermarket chains are dominating offline shopping channels, while open markets are taking the lead in online shopping platforms. This structure is unlikely to change at the moment,” according to the report.

    “Only the aggressive and creative online marketing strategies from social commerce and retailers’ online sites can change the situation for online shopping channels.”

  • Amorepacific’s Etude House opens store in UAE, first in Middle East

    Amorepacific’s Etude House opens store in UAE, first in Middle East

    Amorepacific-owned beauty brand Etude House has arrived in the Middle East with the first store opening in Dubai.

    The standalone store is located inside Dubai Mall, the world’s largest shopping centre, boasting 80 million visitors a year.

    All of Etude House’s best-selling products including Double Lasting Foundation, Dear My Blooming Lips and Real Powder Cushion are available at the store.

    For the Middle Eastern launch, Amorepacific said it studied makeup trends in the region for a long time to develop products tailored to locals.

    Etude House will open its first Kuwait store at the Avenues Mall on Thursday, followed by Saudi Arabia within the first half of this year.

    This year, Amorepacific has been boosting its international business. It has recently brought Mamonde to the US and Laneige to Australia.

    Its eco brand Innisfree also opened in Tokyo last Friday with a two-storey store.