Reporting and analysis on retail, e-commerce, and consumer trends in Korea, updated continuously by our newsroom.
China’s consumer market that once offered vast opportunities for South Korean exporters has become less penetrable as Chinese firms make goods that compete with imports, industry data showed on July 14th. Samsung Electronics, which in 2012 ousted Apple Inc.…
The number of franchise brands and companies has increased by roughly 9 percent compared to last year, with over 5,000 franchise brands owned by 4,000 franchise companies now operating in Korea. But while an average of 115 new franchise stores have opened up…
Amazon is preparing to expand competition in the Korean online retail market, as evidenced by a recent wave of advertisements for positions in its office in Seoul. In the last week alone, the e-commerce giant advertised for 49 full-time positions and…
Sephora, the world’s largest cosmetics multi shop, will open a store in Doota Mall, Dongdaemun, Seoul. According to officials, Sephora is in the process of making contract with Doota Mall. Sephora, that started in 1969 as a small cosmetics shop in France, is…
Shinsegae Duty Free has been awarded the fashion & accessories contract at Incheon International Airport Terminal 2. The DF3 concession covers 14 stores embracing 4,889 square meters of retail space. It draws a line under troubled period for the concession,…
South Korea ranked No. 1 in terms of e-commence for grocery shopping, far outpacing other major developed countries, an industry report showed. According to the report by industry tracker, Kantar Worldpanel, the percentage of fast-moving consumer goods…
L’Oréal Travel Retail has partnered with Lotte Duty Free to open a 23sq m counter at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul. The counter, based on Armani’s “from fashion dress code to beauty dress code” concept, is the first in travel retail to showcase the brand’s new…
The Shilla Duty Free and AmorePacific have introduced a pop-up ‘Beauty Truck’ store to promote the Korean skincare house’s MakeOn brand. The pop-up, which launched on 22 June and will stay open till 19 July, is located outside the travel retailer’s flagship…
The South Korean government plans to increase the mandated monthly telecoms subscription fee discount to 25% from 20% as part of a plan to reduce total household expenses by 4.6 trillion won ($4.03 billion) annually. Customers signing up for one or two year…
The explosive popularity of social media among Korean users is starting to subside amid a sense of fatigue on excessive information from the new medium, according to industry sources. Data showed the numbers of users on major social media sites such as…
Japanese banks will lower the fees on money transfers to South Korea by 90% as early as 2018 in an effort to remain competitive and prevent customers from switching to foreign rivals. The plan was revealed Wednesday by the Japanese Bankers Association at a…
LG has launched a new variant of its widely-appealing G6 with bigger RAM and storage. The new LG G6+ was announced alongside a slew of upgrades to the G6. Specs wise, the LG G6+ more or less has the same features seen on G6. You have a 5.7-inch QHD+ display…
Incheon Airport’s second terminal, which was originally slated to open this year, may push back its opening to after the PyeongChang Winter Olympics next February. According to a spokesperson at the airport corporation, the airport is weighing the pros and…
Global furniture giant IKEA’s retail manager for South Korea Andre Schmidtgall said the country’s home furnishing industry will continue to grow for the next couple of years. Its first store in South Korea which opened in December 2014 in Gwangmyeong, just…
The rental service market in South Korea is rapidly expanding into every corner of South Koreans’ life with items ranging from fashion accessories to digital cameras and furniture, as a growing number of consumers are willing to borrow products at affordable…
A four-year-old retail company which claims to be headquartered in Japan and has branches in South Korea and the United States recently opened the first ever foreign brand chain outlet in North Korea confirm. A branch of Miniso, a Uniqlo-style…
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