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Tag: Korea

  • Kakao Taxi dominates cab-hailing app in Korea

    Kakao Taxi dominates cab-hailing app in Korea

    Kakao Taxi is the most popular cab-hailing app in South Korea, dominating 98 percent of the market, while the food delivery app sector is fiercely contested by two rivals, according to a survey on Tuesday.

    Market analysis company Open Survey polled 1,500 smartphone users between 20 through 40 to find out which online-to-offline apps they use the most for specific needs.

    Kakao Taxi, run by Kakao Corp. that also operates the popular messenger service Kakao Talk, commanded 98 percent of responses for cab-calling services, while UberTaxi came in a far second with 11 percent. Multiple selections were allowed in the survey

    For food delivery, the most used app was Baedal Minjok with 80 percent. It was closely followed by Yogiyo with 72 percent. Baedaltong was third with 48 percent.

    Yanolja and Yeogi Eoddae were neck and neck for hotel booking apps, with both around 50 percent.

    Hotels Combine was second with 35 percent, and Hotels.com ranked third at 33 percent. Airbnb followed with 22 percent.

    Socar was the top choice for car rental with 78 percent. The second most popular app was Green Car with 38 percent.

    Customer satisfaction was the highest for cab apps with 83 percent. Hotel reservation apps also did well with 71 percent. Food delivery apps had 68 percent satisfaction numbers.

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  • Bruxie takes its waffle sandwiches to Seoul

    Bruxie takes its waffle sandwiches to Seoul

    US concept restaurant Bruxie has taken its fried chicken and waffle sandwich international, launching a branch in South Korea.

    Its headquarters are in Orange County, California, where it opened its first location almost seven years ago. The fast-casual dining chain’s eighth location is in Seoul’s Lotte World Mall.

    “International expansion has always been a goal,” says CEO Anthony Smith, who leads the brand’s growth along with CFO Scott Miller and founder/chef Kelly Mullarney. South Korea’s locations are in the hands of franchisee Jae Jung of Bold 4, who plans 10 Bruxie outlets. The second will open in November.

    As well as its menu of sandwiches that feature waffles instead of bread, Bruxie offers salads, cane-sugar sodas, Wisconsin frozen custard, shakes, sundaes and floats. Its custom-crafted coffee is made from a proprietary blend of fair-trade imported beans.

    Bruxie restaurants open daily for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.

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  • German luxury watch “Nomos” to open in Hanwha Galleria Duty Free Shop

    German luxury watch “Nomos” to open in Hanwha Galleria Duty Free Shop

    Hanwha Galleria Duty Free Shop opened German luxury watch Nomos store on Aug 17. Hanwha Galleria Duty Free Shop was the first Korean Duty Free business to launch luxury brands such as Golden Goose, Stefano Ricci, LAUNER LONDON and Corneliani, and succeeded in launching Nomos.

    In addition, Hanwha Galleria Duty Free Shop strengthened luxury watch collection with IWC and  Jaeger-LeCoultre opening in June.

    Nomos is a watch house with an in-house movement with outstanding technology. It was ranked n.8 world’s best watch in 2014 by Chronos, a prestigious German watch magazine along with IWC, Rolex, Patek Philippe and Jaeger-LeCoultre.

    The product dial has the name ‘Glashütte’ which is a production names of the finest watches in Germany. It is a certificate given only to high-quality brands such as A.Lange & Söhne and Glashütte Original.

    In order to put Glashütte on the dial, more than 50 percent of all parts should be produced in this area. Nomos produces 75 ~ 95% of the movement directly.

    Especially, Nomos has a good reputation as a good quality watch with a reasonable price as it can be purchased from 2 million won.

    Customers can purchase Nomos only in Galleria Duty Free Shop in Korea, but there are already more than 20 stores in Japan. In addition, Metro, which is a popular model, gained explosive popularity after being introduced at the Basel Fair in March 2014.

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  • Premium outdoor brand ‘Gregory’ to open its first flagship store

    Premium outdoor brand ‘Gregory’ to open its first flagship store

    Under the unique brand philosophy of ‘Backpacks should be as easy to wear’, Gregory has opened the first flagship store in Sangsu dong, Seoul.

    Based on its ergonomic design and state-of-the-art technology, Gregory has been becoming a brand with a new category of ‘Outdoor Lifestyle Backpack’.

    Since Gregory offers a total of three product lines including functionality, lifestyle, and business line, the brand is widely loved by a wide range of customers from college students in twenties who pursue athletic lifestyle to office workers in thirties who place on functionality and quality.

    Gregory’s “Fit Jig” service is the best example of this brand identity. When choosing a backpack, it is important to consider a variety of factors such as gender, body size, amount of baggage, and purpose, and choose a product that provides a comfortable fit without feeling uncomfortable to the body.

    The Gregory Sangsu flagship store offers a service that recommends an optimal model based on your body size and usage, using a body meter.

    In addition, as it is the only flagship store in Korea, customers can try out the most various products. The Gregory flagship store also offers ‘Old Logo’ products, which are available only here.

    It sells a variety of products that can look at the history and identity of the brand from the vintage items with the old logo to the limited edition. Also from the August 25th, Gregory will show apparel products with its sensitivity.

    The Gregory Flagship Store also attracted visitors with a variety of cultural experience events.  In particular, it celebrated its opening in March last year, and its stores were decorated like galleries.

    Gregory’s early products, founded in 1977 in San Diego, USA, have provided a variety of information related to the brand’s history for 40 years. A Gregory official said, “The Gregory Flagship Store is a place where you can meet all of Gregory’s products that symbolize outdoor and lifestyle.”

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  • SK Telecom develops 5G repeater

    SK Telecom develops 5G repeater

    SK Telecom has developed and trialed a new 5G repeater as part of its preparations towards launching a commercial 5G network.

    The repeater has been applied to the operator’s 5G trial network near Gangnam Station in Seoul to provide denser coverage.

    It has been built with SK Telecom’s independently developed 5G relay technology to solve the issue of 5G coverage limitations caused by the narrow propagation characteristics of high-frequency radio signals in the above 6-GHz range.

    Park Jin-hyo, head of SK Telecom’s network technology R&D center, said the populous Gangnam area is one of the most difficult places to plan and build a network due to the presence of a large number of radio wave obstacles and high-density data traffic.

    “SK Telecom is moving closer to launching a commercial 5G network by applying key 5G technologies to our 5G trial network in Gangnam, an area with the highest data traffic,” he said.

    Using the 5G repeater, SK Telecom will now be able to more easily build 5G networks in other high-density areas, he added.

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  • Geodis to manage BMW’s distribution centre in Korea

    Geodis to manage BMW’s distribution centre in Korea

    In April 2017, BMW Korea opened a new regional parts distribution centre for BMW, MINI and motorcycle spare parts in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, 70 kilometres south of Seoul. GEODIS is entrusted with the logistics of this over 50,000 sqm site, one of BMW’s biggest Regional Distribution Center in the world.

    On this new site, GEODIS annually manages over one million order lines and handles up auto parts deliveries across South Korea. The Group deals with thousands automotive parts stored, more than twice the volume compared to the previous facility.

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  • Korean convenience store chain GS25 to enter Vietnam

    Korean convenience store chain GS25 to enter Vietnam

    South Korea’s GS25 convenience store chain is about to make its Vietnam debut after forming a joint venture with Son Kim Group.

    Vietnam will be GS25’s parent GS Retail’s first foreign market, with the first store scheduled to open before the year ends.

    “We received requests from many countries, including China and other Southeast Asian countries, to export our brand,” a GS Retail spokesman said.

    “After months of research, we concluded that Vietnam had the largest potential for growth.”

    GS Retail, holds 30 per cent of the JV, will sign a master franchise agreement with the JV later to receive royalties on trademark rights and operation.

    GS Retail and Son Kim worked together on Vietnam’s VGS home shopping in the past.

    Vietnam’s large population and rising consumer spending have encouraged a number of international convenience stores to come.

    In June, 7-Eleven stepped into the market and now has four locations in Ho Chi Minh City.

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  • CJ Express to invest THB4 billion in expansion

    CJ Express to invest THB4 billion in expansion

    CJ Express, which runs convenience stores and supermarkets, plans to invest THB4 billion (US$120 million) in doubling the size of the business.

    Its aim is to be earning THB20 billion in sales by 2020, says MD Sathien Setthasit.

    He says about THB3.7 billion will be used to open 370 stores and supermarkets this year through to 2020. This would bring store numbers to 600 within the next three years.

    The remaining THB300 million will be spent on store renovations and other upgrades.

    Sathien says he is confident the investment will help boost sales to THB10 billion this year, up from THB7.4 billion last year.

    This year the company has added stores in the central region and in a 250km radius from Ratchaburi province, where it has its distribution centre.

    CJ Express is owned by the same stakeholders as energy-drink maker Carabao Group, but the two businesses are run separately. Sathien, who is also a Carabao Group founder, acquired CJ Express about four years ago.

    He says CJ Express is quite strong in the central region and helps support sales of Carabao Dang energy drinks.

    There are plans to expand CJ Express outlets to the northeast, which supports about 30 per cent of Thailand’s energy-drink market.

    Sathien says CJ Express will join forces with Topvalue, a wholly owned e-commerce site, in this year’s fourth quarter.

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  • First Williams-Sonoma Korea stores open

    First Williams-Sonoma Korea stores open

    Williams-Sonoma has opened its first stores in Seoul, South Korea under its strategic franchise agreement with home goods retailer Hyundai Livart Furniture.

    Pottery Barn and Pottery Barn Kids opened a combined store and West Elm opened a store at Hyundai City Mall Garden 5. Williams Sonoma opened at Hyundai Department store Mokdong. These openings are the first of 30 stores from the Williams-Sonoma portfolio expected to open across South Korea over the next 10 years.

    “This is an exciting milestone in our global expansion,” said Laura Alber, Williams-Sonoma president and CEO.

    Hyundai Livart, an affiliate of Hyundai Department Store Group, operates Livart, Livart Neoce, Livart Ismine, Livart Kitchen, Livart Kids and H.Mondo.

    The Korean launch follows Williams-Sonoma’s overseas forays into Canada, Australia and the UK, and the franchise of its brands to third parties in the Middle East, the Philippines and Mexico.

    “By the end of this year Williams-Sonoma will be represented at more than 145 international retail locations,” said Ronald Young, executive VP, global of Williams–Sonoma. “As we begin our partnership with Livart opening our first four stores of many to come in South Korea, we look forward to the tremendous opportunity of continuing our global expansion.”

    Hwa-Eung Kim, representative director and CEO of Hyundai Livart Furniture, said the company was looking forward to opening additional stores in Seoul and in other major cities across South Korea soon.

    This October, the two companies will open a five-story flagship store in Nonhyun-dong, Seoul. The superstore will include Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, and West Elm, and will represent the first time three Williams-Sonoma brands are offered in a single standalone location. An additional Williams-Sonoma store will be opened in the Hyundai City Mall Daegu branch in the latter half of this year.

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  • AmorePacific Q2 profit and sales fall sharply

    AmorePacific Q2 profit and sales fall sharply

    South Korean cosmetics company AmorePacific has reported a -58% fall in operating profit and a -16.5% drop in sales in Q2 2017, compared to the same period in 2016. Net profit plummeted by -59.8% year-on-year.

    Operating profit was KW101.6 billion (US$91.13 million) compared to KW240.6 billion in Q2 2016 and sales amounted to KW1,205 billion (US$1.1 billion).

    The company said revenue and profitability decreased for its South Korean business, including duty free stores, due to a decline in the number of foreign tourists.

    Chinese visitor numbers have fallen dramatically since mid-March because of the well documented THAAD anti-missile dispute between South Korea and China.

    On 15 March China imposed a ban on group tours to South Korea, leading to a -40% year-on-year fall in Chinese arrivals in March, a -66.6% decline in April, and a -64.1% decrease in May.

    “Revenue decreased for key luxury brands [such as Sulwhasoo and Hera] from a slowdown in the duty free channel,” said AmorePacific in a statement.

    “Revenue for premium brands [Laneige, Mamonde etc] decreased due to a decline in number of tourists affecting key commercial areas and the duty free channel.”

    The company said the slowdown in sales growth in Asia was a result of “geopolitical uncertainties”, while revenue and profit in North America declined as a result of increased investment in brands and channel portfolio restructuring.

    In Europe, sales and profit fell due to the termination of the Lolita Lempicka licence, said AmorePacific.

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  • SK Telecom more than doubles Q2 profit

    SK Telecom more than doubles Q2 profit

    SK Telecom more than doubled its net profit during the second quarter due to factors including a record performance at chipmaker SK Hynix.

    The operator reported a net income of 620.5 billion won ($555.06 million), up 113.2% year-on-year. Revenue meanwhile grew 1.8% to 4.35 trillion won and operating income increased 3.9% to 423.3 billion won.

    But it was a challenging quarter for the operator’s core telecommunications business, with operting income on a non-consolidated basis falling 3.3% year-on-year to 462.3 billion won due to increased marketing expenses and depreciation costs from the 2.6-GHz spectrum acquired last year.

    Despite this non-consolidated revenue edged up slightly to 3.11 trillion won, due to increased mobile data usage and increased sales in new business areas including IoT solutions.

    Revenue from the SK Broadband division meanwhile increased 1.9% year-on-year to 730.1 billion won and the unit reported a record-high quarterly operating income of 31.6 billion won.

    Internet commerce arm SK Planet meanwhile posted a 5.4% increase in sales to 275 billion won, but still recorded an operating loss of 35.1 billion won.

    “Despite the challenges in the mobile telecommunications market, SK Telecom posted improved results due to the strengthened performance of its main subsidiaries,” SK Telecom CFO Ryu Young-sang commented.

    “SK Telecom will become a global leading ICT company by achieving meaningful growth in media and IoT, while maintaining leadership in the mobile network operations business.”

    The company is also planning to connect its AI platform to other services, including mobile services, media, commerce and its T Map mobile navigation service to generate differentiated big data it can use to provide customized products and services.

  • K-Style Lab launches second pop-up store

    K-Style Lab launches second pop-up store

    Premium multi-brand Korean fashion boutique K-Style Lab has opened its second Hong Kong pop-up store, in Hollywood Road in Central.

    ts K-Style Wardrobe pop-up presents edited collections of one-off pieces and lifestyle products from such Korean designers and brands as Baron Oh, Big Park by Park Your-Soo, Heich Es Heich by Han Sang-Hyuk, Jinteok and Nohke by Jung Mi-Sun.

    There are also newcomers Ara Cho (leather bags), Daze Dayz, Lash and Mirumbeau, which specialises in 3D paper-art lifestyle pieces inspired by Korean traditions and materials.

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  • Lacoste opens a store at Lotte duty free World Tower

    Lacoste opens a store at Lotte duty free World Tower

    Lacoste has bolstered its Asia Pacific presence with the opening of a 38 square meters store at Lotte Duty Free World Tower in Seoul.

    The new store reinforces Lacoste’s aim to strengthen and expand its presence in new geographical areas and find new ways of connecting with consumers before, during and after their trips.

    Lacoste CEO Asia Pacific & Global Travel Retail Jean-Louis Delamarre said: “We are thrilled to open this store in Lotte Duty Free World Tower.

    This opening in partnership with Lotte will allow us to further enhance our presence in Asia.”

    France’s premium casual brand Lacoste has been launching a ‘Life is a beautiful sport’ campaign based on the three values of authenticity, joy and elegance in the branding industry since 2014.

    Also in May, Novak Djokovic, world-renowned tennis player, was chosen as a brand new face to represent the brand. Lacoste selected Novak Djokovic as the new face of the brand to inherit the strength and fair play spirit that the brand has pursued since its founding.

    The comfortable elegance that Novak Djokovic shows and his unique play fit perfectly with the DNA of the brand, and it is raising expectations.Novak Djokovic has signed a five-year contract with Lacoste and will be active in and out of the court as an icon representing Lacoste’s brand.

    Lacoste was created by René Lacoste in 1933, a tennis legend. Rena Lacoste, famous for his persistent and robust play, has had the nickname of a crocodile, which symbolizes his brand. Meanwhile, as reported, Lotte Duty Free partially reopened the store on 15 January, 193 days after it was forced to close on 26 June 2016, following its unsuccessful 2015 bid to retain its licence.

    The 17,334 square meters store is the second-biggest in Asia and the world’s third-largest. The new space is +52 percent bigger than the original 14,011sq m shop. The integrated retail offer connects the new World Tower space with the existing adjacent store in the Avenuel building.

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  • South Korea tips fastest growth in three years in 2017

    South Korea tips fastest growth in three years in 2017

    The forecast for 2017 marks the strongest projected growth of the South Korean economy since GDP expanded by 3.3 percent in 2014. South Korea said Tuesday its economy is set to grow at its fastest rate in three years in 2017, on the back of strong exports and a $10 billion stimulus package aimed at creating jobs and bolstering welfare.

    South Korea has enjoyed a decades-long boom, but expansion has slowed more recently and economic and social frustrations were among the drivers of left-leaning President Moon Jae-In’s election in May.

    The finance ministry raised its forecast for Asia’s fourth-largest economy, saying gross domestic product was expected to expand by 3.0 percent — up 0.4 percentage points from an earlier projection in December.

    The forecast for 2017 marks the strongest projected growth of the South Korean economy since GDP expanded by 3.3 percent in 2014.

    Authorities also cited a recovery in the country’s exports for the improved outlook as the global economy rebounds.

    “We believe the 3.0 percent growth will be possible if the economy continues to undertake reforms for consumption-led growth,” deputy finance minister Lee Chan-Woo told reporters.

    The tweaked forecast comes after the government passed a giant stimulus package over the weekend promising 110,000 new jobs in response to record-high youth unemployment.

    Unemployment among under-30s hit 11.2 percent in April, more than double the rate for the entire working population.

    Economic frustrations were among the factors that fuelled mass anti-corruption protests that saw former president Park Geun-Hye impeached and arrested over corruption.

    Among the new jobs being targeted are firefighters, police, assistant teachers and social workers, while young job seekers, small businesses and tech startups will also be helped.

    Financial assistance will be increased for women on maternity leave, more daycare centers and nursing homes for the elderly are to be opened, and businesses hiring more full-time workers are to be given extra funding.

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  • Challenges, but CapitaLand Mall Trust proves steady

    Challenges, but CapitaLand Mall Trust proves steady

    CapitaLand Mall Trust had net property income of S$117.5 million (US$86 million) for its second quarter to the end of last month – 1.2 per cent higher than the $116.1 million for the same period last year.

    “Notwithstanding the challenges in Singapore’s retail sector, the trust has produced yet another steady set of results,” says CEO Tony Tan of CapitaLand Mall Trust Management, which manages the trust.

    Its portfolio occupancy at June 30 was 98.6 per cent, outperforming the average market occupancy level, says Tan.

    During the quarter, a major asset-enhancement initiative was completed for Bukit Panjang Plaza, with the rooftop garden and level-four public library being expanded. Other improvements include new dual-file escalators and a skylight roof.

    At the end of April, Funan blazed a trail with the launch of its one-of-a-kind experiential show suite, a first for Singapore retail, says Tan. “Two months later, and with more than two years to go before its target opening, Funan’s retail component is already 30 per cent committed.”

    He says the decreases in gross revenue for the year’s first two quarters were mainly because of Funan as it closed in July last year for the redevelopment.