Reporting and analysis on retail, e-commerce, and consumer trends in Korea, updated continuously by our newsroom.
Amorepacific Group announced lower-than-expected results for the third quarter on Monday with operating profits dropping 36 percent year on year. The fall comes as a stark contrast to rival LG Household & Health Care, which saw operating profits in its beauty…
Chinese-owned ‘South Korean designer brand’ Beccos says it plans to launch 50 stores in India. Scheduled to be opened by the middle of next year, the stores will require an investment of ₹100 crore (US$13.67 million) and are expected to return a revenue of…
General Motors Chairman and CEO Mary Barra hinted at visiting Korea soon amid conflict over the spinning off of the Korean unit’s R&D division. If the trip happens, it would be Barra’s first visit to the Korean operations since she became chairman in 2016. GM…
SK Telecom, Korea’s top mobile carrier, said Tuesday that its third quarter net profit rose 32.4 percent from a year earlier. Net income reached a record high of 1.04 trillion won ($910.4 million) in the July-September period, compared with a profit of 793…
Kia Motors Friday reported a swing to profit in the third quarter from a loss a year earlier. For the three months ending Sept. 30, Kia posted a net profit of 297.74 billion won ($262 million) from a net loss of 291.77 billion won a year ago, the company said…
Xiaomi’s affordable smartphone Pocophone F1 is arriving in Korea next month. The Pocophone F1, the first smartphone from Xiaomi’s sub-brand Poco Global, was first unveiled in early August. The F1 will cost 429,000 won ($376) here, around one-third of the…
Hyundai Motor has partnered with a Chinese institute to set up a $100 million fund for local investments in hydrogen technologies and related industrial infrastructure, the company said Monday. Hyundai Motor and the Beijing-Tsinghua Industrial R&D Institute…
Starbucks Coffee Korea is adding 300 more ‘cashless shops’ in addition to the 103 stores currently in operation, starting on Monday. Cashless stores require customers use a means of payment other than cash. The company noted that adding 300 more cashless…
LG Electronics said Thursday it will establish a joint venture with Germany’s Lufthansa Technik, which will be devoted to developing in-cabin electronics systems. The new venture, whose name has not yet been decided, will focus on developing in-cabin…
Hyundai Motor’s operating profit plummeted 76 percent on-year in the third quarter as a recall in the U.S. and sluggish growth in major markets hurt the automaker’s bottom line. Korea’s No. 1 carmaker by sales announced Thursday that it posted 289 billion won…
Korean cosmetics firm The Face Shop has lost a trademark infringement case filed against it by French luxury brand Louis Vuitton. The infringement case relates to Face Shop’s collaboration with American brand My Other Bag, known for its parodies of luxury…
Moody’s Investors Service expects stronger competition for the Asia Pacific (APAC) telecommunications sector and stronger commoditisation, and slower revenue growth for companies across 11 markets in the region, including Malaysia. The other markets are Hong…
Technology-related subsidiaries of LG hosted a fair on Monday in which 20 local start-ups presented their cutting-edge developments in areas such as autopilot technologies, artificial intelligence and big data. The small firms are seeking partnerships with…
SK Group is reevaluating its business models in a bid to ensure that all of its affiliates create social value along with economic value. SK Chairman Chey Tae-won and the heads of all SK affiliates discussed ways to renew their business models so that doing…
LG Chem said Tuesday that it will invest 2.1 trillion won ($1.8 billion) by 2023 to build electric vehicle batteries in China in the latest move to meet growing demand for batteries for zero-emissions cars. Korea’s top chemical company said it has broken…
Samsung Electronics introduced on Monday a laptop it believes will appeal to millennials. The 13.3-inch computer, the Samsung Notebook Flash, has rounded key caps reminiscent of old typewriters. Its palm rest has a coarse fabric, not conventional metal, which…
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