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Tag: Shinsegae

  • Spotlight on ASEAN for Korean retail, beauty and entertainment biz

    Spotlight on ASEAN for Korean retail, beauty and entertainment biz

    With Southeast Asia becoming the center stage for South Korean businesses in expanding their global presence, retail conglomerates like Lotte, Shinsegae and CJ have been successfully tapping into the markets. Lotte Group has focused its investments on its retail arm Lotte Shopping’s entrance to the Indonesian market. According to the company, the Indonesia market accounts for 17 percent of total sales earned from overseas Lotte Group businesses.

    Lotte Mart, a discount chain operated by Lotte Shopping, currently runs 46 stores in 25 cities in Indonesia. These stores raked in 1.1 trillion won (US$971 million) in sales as of the end of last year.

    By 2020, the company aims to open 36 more stores in 10 additional Indonesia cities.

    Following a successful entrance in the Indonesian market, Lotte Shopping now targets large-scale investment in Vietnam.

    The company will inject 330 billion won to complete the construction of Lotte Mall Hanoi by 2020.

    Shinsegae Group has been also speeding up its expansion into countries in the Southeast Asia.

    In 2015, Shinsegae’s discount chain operator E-mart opened a two-story mall located in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City at Go Vap District, one of the most developed and densely populated areas in the capital.

    The Go Vap branch marks E-mart’s first overseas store since the brand redirected its focus to the Southeast Asian market in 2011 after officially exiting the Chinese market.

    For over the next three years, E-mart will invest 549 billion won to open four more stores in Vietnam by 2020.

    The second outlet in Ho Chi Minh will open in the first half of next year, the group said.

    Singapore is another crucial country — geographically and economically — for the groups.

    SPC Group opened the first Paris Baguette store in Singapore in 2012. Now nine outlets are operated there, including one at Changi Airport.

    The group said its Singaporean branch Paris Baguette Singapore PTE marked a 12 percent increase in sales from 12.9 billion won in 2015 to 14.4 billion won in 2016.

    SPC Group said it has taken care to localize its services as much as possible to meet the needs and lifestyle of Singaporean consumers.

    Entertainment businesses have also penetrated Southeast Asian markets.

    CJ ENM, a merged corporation of CJ O Shopping and CJ E&M that officially launched in July, will open Asia’s largest virtual commerce content production center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, targeting audiences in Southeast Asian countries.

    The center, called DADA Studio Vietnam, will create and distribute at least 1,000 pieces of virtual commerce content from early next year.

    Focusing on making use of the low-cost production system and high efficiency of the talent pool in Vietnam, CJ ENM said its attempt to operate a content hub abroad would lead to boosted content sales from the global market.

    “CJ O Shopping and CJ E&M had already witnessed the possibility of the v-commerce content business through our DADA Studio and online creators’ platform DIA TV. To dominate the expanding global content market, a merger of the two CJ companies will show the synergized effect of CJ’s digital content and channel operation,” said Kim Do-han, a director at CJ O Shopping.

    Following the K-pop boom and popularity of Korean style makeup trends, Amorepacific opened an outlet of its high-end makeup and skin care brand Hera this year at the Takashimaya Department store in the heart of Singapore’s shopping district.

    “Targeting the Singaporean market is important with the K-pop and Korean culture wave’s sensational influence to surrounding countries. Hera’s trendy brand image will suit well with Singapore consumers’ taste,” said Na Jung-kyun, head of Amorepacific’s Southeast Asian region division.

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  • Ministop South Korea is for sale, rivals compete

    Ministop South Korea is for sale, rivals compete

    South Korean retail operators Lotte and Shinsegae are competing to buy the 21-year-old local subsidiary of Japanese convenience-store operator Ministop.

    Shinsegae and Lotte respectively own rival chains Emart24 and 7-Eleven and are both reportedly seeking to take full ownership of Ministop South Korea. Both companies see the deal as a means to grow their respective businesses in a market where convenience-store penetration has reached saturation point, limiting opportunities for organic network growth.

    7-Eleven currently operates 9535 stores across South Korea and Emart24 3413. The Ministop network numbers just 2535.

    Japan’s Aeon, which owns the Ministop brand, owns a majority 76 per cent of the South Korean business.

    Daesang group owns 20 per cent and Mitsubishi the balance. Aeon has appointed Nomura Securities to find a buyer for the business as it sees little future for the convenience store brand in South Korea, a highly competitive market. Instead, Aeon is looking to Southeast Asian markets for growth, including Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia.

    Last year, Ministop South Korea sales totalled 1.18 trillion won (US$1 billion), ranking it fourth in revenue terms behind GS25, CU and 7-Eleven.

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  • Shinsegae opens Show&Tell stores for men

    Shinsegae opens Show&Tell stores for men

    South Korean retail conglomerate Shinsegae has launched a lifestyle editorial shop for men.

    The “Show&Tell” store opened in two Shinsegae locations; one at the Starfield luxury shopping complex in Hanam, and the other as an outlet in Yeoju city.

    Described as “providing a new playground for men,” Show&Tell displays a range of local and foreign brands priced to attract consumers to visit offline malls.

    Shinsegae has recently introduced giant luxury and leisure shopping malls locally and a discount chain store in Japan.

  • Shinsegae launches Paris boutique soon

    Shinsegae launches Paris boutique soon

    South Korean Department Store Shinsegae is to open a Paris boutique, Boon the Shop, in the iconic department store Le Bon Marche this month.

    Opening the multi-brand store follows the response to the brand’s popularity at a Paris exhibition last March. Shinsegae similarly entered the US market last year at luxury store Barneys New York. The Bon Marche opening is particularly prestigious given the department store’s status as the world’s first of its kind, having opened in 1836.

    Shinsegae will be Korea’s first department store to earn a spot in the French shopping institution.

    Boon the Shop was Korea’s first multi-brand boutique and retails more than 100 selected items.

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  • Hyundai teamed up with Amazon to plan new retail model

    Hyundai teamed up with Amazon to plan new retail model

    Hyundai and Amazon plan to develop a “next-generation” retail model amid South Korean retailers’ push to adopt the latest technology to their online and offline platforms.

    Under the strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Service (AWS) Korea signed on Friday, Hyundai Department Store Group said it will also establish a system to analyse customer activity and expand the partnership between its information technology arm and AWS, the US retail giant’s cloud-computing platform.

    Their joint research will focus on developing the Korean version of Amazon Go – the US e-commerce firm’s checkout-free offline mall – as well as using drones to deliver food and beverages, and applying artificial intelligence technology for automated concierge service, according to Hyundai.

    The Korean retailer’s aim is to implement Amazon’s cutting-edge technologies to its department store set to open in Yeouido, Seoul’s financial district, in 2020.

    “We will partner with Amazon to find a medium- and long-term roadmap to provide a new shopping experience to our customers,” a company official said.

    The deal was made as South Korean retailers are moving to secure competitiveness through the use of new technologies.

    Last Friday, E-Mart Everyday, another major South Korean retailer and Shinsegae’s supermarket-chain operator, opened a “cashier-less” store in Seoul where customers can pay via the firm’s mobile payment service app without going through a checkout counter.

    The 212sqm Gangnam store is expected to increase the company’s competitiveness in the market, allowing customers to use Shinsegae’s SSG Pay mobile payment system to make their purchases. It is the latest in a series of technological advances made by the company, including electronic price labeling and the use of robotic concierges and autonomous shopping carts.

    The new store will include a self-checkout counter as an alternative to using the app, and a cashier for age-verification sales of alcohol and tobacco products.

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  • Evolution in Korean retailers commerce

    Evolution in Korean retailers commerce

    South Korean retailers are increasingly crossing boundaries between their commerce platforms from television to offline and online to attract more customers, market watchers said.

    Shinsegae TV Shopping Inc., the home shopping arm of retail giant Shinsegae, is set to open an offline shop for luxury goods sold through its program S-Style at the retailer’s mall in Paju, north of Seoul, on August 18.

    The 159-square-meter store will mark the first case for a television-based commerce firm to open an offline mall, according to Shinsegae.

    “We will provide a unique experience to our customers, freely crossing over the line between online and offline,” a company official said, adding the launch is aimed at communicating more closely with its customers.

    Shinsegae is not the only retailer moving to break boundaries between its platforms.

    Earlier onAugust 13, another major retailer, the Hyundai Home Shopping Network Co., opened an online mall named Hootd, gathering products from eight influencer brands. Their combined number of followers on social media amounts to 1.4 million, according to the company.

    Launching the new service, Hyundai said it will actively collaborate with Hyundai Department Store to regularly open pop-up stores and use its TV channel to further raise the influencer brands’ profile.

    Industry watchers say local retailers have been gradually expanding the collaboration of online and offline platforms to create synergy and make up for their respective shortcomings.

    “Despite efforts to overcome the limit of fully delivering product information, online platforms fall short of providing the same experience as offline malls,” said Kim Na-kyung a researcher at the LG Economic Research Institute.

    “Especially to meet the needs of consumers who wish to check products’ traits that cannot be explained in numbers, such as texture and color, offline channels can be an effective complement.”

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  • Shinsegae DF partners with China’s Ctrip

    Shinsegae DF partners with China’s Ctrip

    Shinsegae DF Inc., duty-free store operating unit of South Korea’s retail conglomerate Shinsegae Group, has joined hands with China’s largest online travel agency Ctrip to offer membership service with hopes to woo more Chinese consumers.

    Shinsegae DF said on 3 August that it will offer consumers membership subscription service via Ctrip website, becoming the world’s first duty-free store operator to partner with Ctrip, an online platform in China with over 300 million users offering travel-related services such as accommodation, flight reservation, and tour packages.

    Under the partnership, Shinsegae DF will introduce its brand on the travel agency’s website under Global Shopping section and offer membership subscription service.

    Consumers will be given silver memberships that grant them a 10 percent discount at all times.

    The latest partnership with Chinese e-commerce site comes at a time when Shinsegae DF is going all-out to attract Chinese travelers to boost sales.

    In November, the Korean duty-free store operator joined hands with China’s leading messaging and social media app WeChat with 1 billion monthly users to expand membership. Shinsegae DF has seen a 150 percent average daily surge in the number of foreign memberships since the service launch.

    Average daily sales of Shinsegae DF’s store in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, have also jumped from the 4 billion won (US$3.5 million) range in October last year to more than 5 billion won this year, the company said.

    An unnamed official from Shinsegae DF said that the company will put out efforts to attract Chinese travelers by expanding membership subscription partnership with Alipay in addition to Ctrip and WeChat.

    Shinsegae said the daily average number of foreigners who sign up for its memberships grew over 150 percent following the launch of the service with WeChat.

    “We are putting our utmost efforts in establishing platforms and communities to better communicate with consumers from Greater China,” a company official said. “In addition to Ctrip and WeChat, we plan to expand collaboration with Alipay.”

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  • Lancome launches event at Shinsegae Duty Free

    Lancome launches event at Shinsegae Duty Free

    Cosmetics brand Lancome has taken over a high-profile retail space in Seoul’s Shinsegae Duty Free store.

    The 360-degree panoramic LED screen above the signature Shinsegae carousel, facade and surrounding features were fully branded to showcase new products, creating a multi-sensorial concept space intended to immerse guests and consumers in the brand’s “Makeup Is My Power” experience.

    Lancome Travel Retail Asia Pacific is using the area to promote its Teint Idole Ultra Wear Foundation in a move designed to promote the power of makeup as well as to create a dedicated beauty space for consumers to fully experience its products.

     

    “As part of our goal to create new tourism demands through our duty-free store, we are on a constant lookout for partners and ideas to strengthen and elevate our retail offerings. We are proud to partner Lancôme Travel Retail Asia Pacific for this impressive regional launch,” said Seokho Hong, senior VP of Shinsegae Duty Free.

    The official launch event included a celebrity appearance by popular Korean celebrity and Lancome local ambassador for South Korea, Suzy Bae, a group of Lancome’s national make-up artists from around the world, and 20 prominent Chinese KOLs and customers.

  • Duty-free shops enjoy turnaround in 2018

    Duty-free shops enjoy turnaround in 2018

    Korean duty-free shops are reviving their once-stagnant sales, with Lotte, Shilla and Shinsegae leading the turnaround.

    According to the Korea Customs Service on Saturday, duty-free sales in the first half of the year reached 9.94 trillion won ($8.79 billion), up 38 percent from the same period last year.

    If the trend continues in the second half of this year, sales at duty-free shops will likely rise by 30 percent from last year’s 14.47 trillion won.

    Shinsegae Duty Free said on Tuesday that its daily average sales reached 1.7 billion won after the opening of its Gangnam branch in southern Seoul on July 18, far exceeding the company’s sales expectations of 1 billion won a day.

    “Our goal is to reach 180 billion won by the end of this year, and 500 billion during our first year of operation,” said Ahn Joo-yeon, a public relations manager for Shinsegae Duty Free. “We have a good start.”

    If sales at the company’s Gangnam branch continue at this pace, they will reach about 250 billion won this year.

    Chinese consumers made up about 90 percent of the foreign shoppers at Shinsegae Duty Free’s Gangnam branch.

    Group tourists accounted for 36 percent of overall foreign customers, while 64 percent were individual tourists.

    Starting early next month, Shinsegae will also begin operating in duty-free sections 1 and 5 of Incheon International Airport Terminal 1, which Lotte Duty Free withdrew from.

    Shinsegae estimates it will take in about 300 billion won in sales between this August and December.

    Shinsegae’s Terminal 2 Duty Free Shop, which opened early this year, is expected to bring in about 200 billion won in sales this year.

    “Total sales are expected to increase from 1.8 trillion won last year to around 3 trillion won this year,” a Shinsegae Duty Free official said.

    Shinsegae, once at the bottom of the Korean duty-free trinity, increased its market share this year.

    Industry experts predict that Shinsegae will take about 20 percent of the Korean duty-free market this year, up from 13 percent last year.

    Shilla Duty Free was behind Shinsegae in its bid for the Incheon Airport duty-free slots last month, but Shilla’s operating profit hasn’t taken any hits.

    Shilla’s duty-free shops in the Hong Kong, Singapore and Incheon airports continue draw in sales, and 42.6 percent of the company’s sales in the first quarter came from the airport shops.

    Shilla Duty Free saw a 29-percent rise in first quarter sales from 782.7 billion won last year to 1.37 trillion won this year, while operating profit rose 181 percent to 476 billion won.

    Shilla Duty Free brought in about 4 trillion won in sales last year, accounting for 27 percent of the market. It’s expected to have a similar market share this year.

    Lotte handed over two out of its three duty-free locations at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 to Shinsegae this year and didn’t open any new locations.

    If Lotte Duty Free had operated all of its Terminal 1 locations until the end of its contract in 2020, it likely would have suffered losses. Lotte’s most valuable Terminal 1 duty-free section, the liquor and tobacco area, is still open.

    According to an official at Lotte Duty Free, sales at the duty-free store’s location in Sogong-dong, central Seoul, are expected to reach 4 trillion won this year, up 30 percent from 3.169 trillion won last year.

    Lotte, the world’s second-largest duty-free company after Dufry in Switzerland, has expanded its overseas duty-free shops, opening its seventh location in Nha Trang Airport in Vietnam at the end of last month.

    It also plans to bid on space in Taiwan’s Taoyuan Airport this month. Lotte is also in the process of acquiring JR Duty Free, an Australian company.

    Last year, Lotte Duty Free raked in 6.2 trillion won in sales, 150 billion of which were made overseas.

    “We will record 7 trillion won in sales at the Sogong location and 1 trillion won in the World Tower [southern Seoul] location within this year,” said a Lotte Duty Free official. “We expect to see a massive increase in operating profit from 2.5 billion last year, as well.”

  • Shinsegae Opens New Duty-free Store in Seoul

    Shinsegae Opens New Duty-free Store in Seoul

    Burgeoning duty-free retailer Shinsegae opened its second store in downtown Seoul.

    As reported, the retailer announced its plans to open the mammoth 13,350sqm outlet in the Central City complex in Seoul’s Gangnam area after being awarded the licence in December 2016. Its opening follows the retailer’s first downtown Seoul store opening in the Myeongdong district in May 2016.

    The downtown outlet features both areas dedicated to Korean brands, such as Sulwhasoo and The History of Whoo, and international brands, including Gucci, Estée Lauder and Tiffany & Co, across multiple floor.

    The opening comes in the wake of rapid growth from Shinsegae in recent years, with the retailer saying in 2014 it was looking to “aggressively” expand.

    Since then Shinsegae has not only opened the Myeongdong downtown store and the new Gangnam outlet in Seoul. The retailer has also secured key retail contracts at Incheon International Airport. In July 2017, it was awarded a fashion contract in terminal two at the airport and the retailer has this month taken on both the concessions vacated by Lotte in terminal one at the airport.

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  • Vini Vici beauty enters China

    Vini Vici beauty enters China

    Shinsegae International Co., the fashion arm of South Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae Group, aims to open a flagship store of its cosmetics brand VIDI VICI in China late next year to tap deeper into the world’s largest market.

    Prior to the opening, it will launch a premium skin care line with a concept of lotus in November, the company said.

    Shinsegae International recently established a local office in China to prepare for the opening of a VIDI VICI flagship store, according to a company official. It could open the store by the end of next year after getting necessary licenses from Chinese authorities.

    “VIDI VICI is famous for its skin care goods in China, so we are planning to add a premium skin care line consisting of six products for women in their 30s and 40s with a price tag of below 200,000 won (US$178.08),” said an official at Shinsegae International.

    VIDI VICI has successfully earned more than 10 billion won in sales every month since March thanks to the brand’s popularity among Chinese consumers.

    It swung to profit of 570 million won for the first time last year since it was taken over by Shinsegae International in 2012. Its revenue is expected to reach 130 billion won this year, according to analysts.

    Shinsegae International’s cosmetics business also reversed to profit of 5.7 billion won last year on sales of 62.7 billion won, and sales are forecast to more than triple to 200 billion won this year.

    Meanwhile, Shinsegae International recently has won the exclusive right to sell the lineup of U.S. top makeup brand Hourglass Cosmetics in Korea and opened a store in a department store in Seoul.

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  • South Korean convenience stores to sell more own brand

    South Korean convenience stores to sell more own brand

    More South Korean c-stores are set to launch in-house products as local retailers move to attract more consumers with price competitiveness.

    E-Mart24, the convenience-store arm of South Korean retail giant Shinsegae, said it is planning to unveil its own private-label product within this year. Ministop Korea, operator of Ministop, is set to launch its own branded products in September.

    The moves are part of the companies’ broader efforts to find a breakthrough in the saturated South Korean c-store landscape. The size of South Korean convenience stores private-label product market is estimated at around 3.5 trillion won (US$3.15 billion).

    CU, South Korea’s largest convenience-store chain, operated by BGF Retail, released its own brand, Heyroo, in 2015, and GS25, another major convenience-store chain, joined the move with You Us in 2016.

    BGF Retail said sales of its private-label products rose 35.3 per cent year-on-year in 2016. Last year’s revenue was up 19.1 per cent from 2016.

    GS Retail, operator of GS25, said sales of its private-brand items accounted for 36.6 per cent of its total revenue in the first half of this year, excluding revenue generated from cigarettes and services. The company has around 2000 products under private label.

    Another major convenience store chain, 7-Eleven, said sales of its in-house products accounted for 35.9 per cent of this year’s total revenue as of Sunday. It currently has some 1500 products under its private brand.

    “The companies will be able to survive in this saturated market only if they manage to secure consumers who are highly loyal to their private label products,” an industry source said.

    The market size for convenience stores in South Korea surpassed 20 trillion won in 2016, up 18.6 per cent from the previous year, according to industry data.

  • Shinsegae unveils its first independent hotel in Seoul

    Shinsegae unveils its first independent hotel in Seoul

    L’Escape, Shinsegae’s new boutique hotel, aims to combine the ambience of 19th-century Paris with intriguing restaurants and bars from Korean and foreign trendsetters.

    Located in central Seoul, behind the main Shinsegae Department Store branch, L’Escape opened its doors to the press for the first time.

    “Our ultimate goal is to be a lifestyle platform that offers trendy cultural content and food experiences to enjoy inside the hotel,” said L’Escape’s General Manager Kim Bum-soo. “365 days a year, L’Escape will have something going on, whether it’s a party or [pop-up restaurant by] globally renowned chefs and sommeliers.”

    During the event, L’Escape unveiled a list of partners that collaborated to develop the hotel’s restaurants, bar and cafe. They include Seoul-based dessert cafe Maison M’O, bartender team Taxonomy and The Modern, a two-Michelin-star restaurant located in New York.

    The hotel’s exterior and interior was designed by French architect Jacques Garcia, famous for his luxurious boutique hotels, such as the Hotel Costes in Paris and the NoMad Hotel in New York City.

    Shinsegae also invested heavily in guest amenities for the new hotel. The company hired foreign experts and brands to develop exclusive products for L’Escape, from flower decorations to bedding. Perfumer Alienor Massnet, who has worked with Maison Martin Margiela and Memo Paris, developed a signature scent that will be made into candles and sprays applied to the guest rooms.

    L’Escape’s general manager himself was a major contributor to selecting and signing partnerships. Better known as Pat2Bach, Kim is a well-known power blogger in food and leisure circles.

    Kim was invited to join Shinsegae Group by its Vice President Chung Yong-jin in 2011, and has helped launch the company’s craft beer pub Devil’s Door and organized the eateries inside Starfield malls.

    His appointment as the hotel’s general director is a bit of a surprise, though, as he has no experience as a professional hotelier. “My ambition is to meld the food and cultural experiences I’ve had,” he said. “I think of myself more as a producer that shapes the hotel as a whole instead of a conventional general manager that greets guests.”

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  • Starbucks Korea to open the 30th upscale Reserve Bar

    Starbucks Korea to open the 30th upscale Reserve Bar

    Starbucks Korea says it will expand its premium Reserve store network to meet the growing demand for specialty coffee among local consumers.

    The company will open two Reserve stores in Seoul and a third in Pangyo, just south of the capital, this week. They will raise to 30 the number of upscale Reserve cafes in the country, which is already the third-largest total of any international market, behind China with 52 and the US with 35.

    Starbucks Korea is a joint venture between Starbucks Coffee International and South Korea’s Shinsegae Group.

    The number of Reserve bars in South Korea stood at 15 as of the end of last year, so has nearly doubled in the past six months.

    “We will continue to increase the number of Reserve bars in line with the growing demand for specialty coffee among local consumers,” a Starbucks Korea official said

    Starbucks remains the undisputed No 1 in Korea’s coffee industry and was the first such chain the country to surpass 1 trillion won (US$895 million) in sales. It has more than 1150 stores nationwide.

    The size of South Korea’s domestic coffee market reached 6.4 trillion won at the end of 2016, up 30.6 per cent from 2014, according to government data.

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  • Shinsegae wins Incheon duty-free license

    Shinsegae wins Incheon duty-free license

    Shinsegae Duty Free won two licenses to operate at Incheon International Airport’s Terminal 1 on Friday, beating out Shilla Duty Free in the competitive battle for lucrative slots at one of the world’s most trafficked airports.

    The Korea Customs Service said Shinsegae will be allowed to operate stores in the DF1 and DF5 zones of Terminal 1 from next month until July 2023. In total, Shinsegae now occupies four out of eight duty-free zones allocated to major conglomerates. The other four are run by Lotte Duty Free and Shilla Duty Free. Another four are reserved for smaller operators.

    “DF1 and DF5 are significant spots in terms of size and items they’re allowed to sell,” said a spokesman for Incheon International Airport Corporation, which determines what types of products can be sold in each zone. “DF1 is for cosmetics and perfume, while DF5 is for leather accessories and fashion.”

    The two zones combined occupy more than 8,000 square meters (86,000 square feet), nearly half of Terminal 1’s total duty-free space. Lotte Duty Free, the market leader, initially held the fort but decided to give up the license in February after failing to secure lower rent from Incheon International Airport. It later re-entered the bid after the airport offered cheaper rent.

    Combined, DF1 and DF5 stores used to generate 800 to 900 billion won ($720 to 810 million) a year, equivalent to 6 to 7 percent of the Korean duty-free market’s total sales.

    Shinsegae and Shilla were the final competitors among four bidders that submitted applications to Incheon International Airport Corporation last month. Lotte Duty Free and Doosan Duty Free were ruled out in the first round of evaluation.

    The final round pitted two retail giants run by conglomerate family daughters: Chung Yoo-kyung of Shinsegae Department Store and Lee Boo-jin of Hotel Shilla. Chief executives from the two companies – Han In-kyu for Shilla Duty Free and Son Yung-sik for Shinsegae Duty Free – presented their business plans to customs officials at the Customs Border Control Training Institute in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, on Friday. Officials then assigned each plan a grade.

    Industry sources speculate that Shinsegae’s higher bidding price did the work. Among a total of 1,000 points in the customs office’s grading scale, bidding price took up 400 points. Shinsegae offered 337 billion won for the two zones, while Shilla offered 269.8 billion won.

    In the duty-free industry, the bid upended a market long dominated by Lotte and Shilla. Shinsegae is a relative newcomer in the game, entering in 2012 after acquiring the duty-free business of Paradise Hotel.

    As of last year, the market share of the three major operators was 41.9 percent for Lotte, 29.7 percent for Shilla and 12.7 percent for Shinsegae.

    Shinsegae’s bid win on Friday, though, raises its share to 19 percent, while Lotte’s falls to 36 percent because of the lost space at Incheon. Shilla’s share remains unchanged at 29.7 percent.

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