Reporting and analysis on retail, e-commerce, and consumer trends in Korea, updated continuously by our newsroom.
Seven-Eleven Japan is finally setting up shop in Okinawa, the only Japanese prefecture where it has yet to open an outlet. The convenience store operator plans to use the southern island as a stepping stone for expanding sales of its in-house brand across…
Incheon International Airport says it expects annual duty free sales to reach US$2billion once again in 2017 following the complete remodelling of its 2,753square meter luxury boutique street, Airstar Avenue, at the central area of Terminal 1. Meanwhile the…
The South Korean government is increasing pressure to scrap monthly basic mobile service charges to reduce phone bills for customers. A presidential advisory committee has called on the Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) to draw up a plan for…
Purchases made through mobile devices like smartphones accounted for record-high levels of all products traded online in April, government data showed. Mobile transactions through smartphones and tablets reached 3.68 trillion won (US$3.28 billion) in April,…
Bloomingdale’s will launch on June 10th the first ever brick-and-mortar outpost of the Korean beauty retailer at its Soho location. The new mini store will sell a selection of K-beauty products curated by Soko Glam. Soko Glam launched in 2012 as an online…
Fintech startup Paycock announced Monday that it would begin supplying Seoul City with a mobile payment service based on optical character recognition technology starting in June. The service allows stores to accept credit card payments through the company’s…
South Korea’s LG Uplus has announced a new strategic partnership with Vodafone Group for the South Korean market. The agreement, the first strategic partnership between LG Uplus and a global operator, will involve collaboration on both enterprise and consumer…
SK Telecom has announced the launch of five-band carrier aggregation (CA) and 4X4 multiple input multiple output (MIMO) technologies as part of its ongoing evolution to 5G. The operator has made five-band CA LTE-A Pro available in the main areas of 53 cities…
E-Bay Korea has been helping a number of small consumer goods makers by providing an online sales platform through which they can reach millions of buyers abroad. Thanks to Gmarket’s global shop, some companies have even seen their overseas sales exceed what…
Lotte Duty Free, South Korea’s top duty-free operator, said it has set up a new outlet at a Vietnamese airport, making a foray into the Southeast Asian market. Lotte clinched a joint venture deal with a Vietnamese counterpart to co-run Phu Khanh Duty Free at…
South Korea retained its position of having the world’s fastest average internet speeds during the first quarter, but it was the only market in APAC to experience a year-on-year speed decline. These are among the findings of Akamai’s latest State of the…
The Sony Xperia XZ Premium has gone on pre-order in South Korea. The phone carries a KRW 869,000 ($775) price tag, and will go on sale in the Asian market starting June 8. The handset will be available through third-party retailers as well, including T…
South Korea’s Jeju Air said on Tuesday China has approved a plan to double its flights to the Chinese city of Weihai from June 2, boosting hopes of easing political tension between the two countries. Relations between China and South Korea have been strained…
Asian travel retail distribution company Blue Chip Group is aiming to expand its business with existing and new travel retailers following its debut at this year’s TFWA Asia Pacific Exhibition. The company, which specialises in travel retail distribution of…
Jung Saem Mool Beauty opened a flagship store on Boulevard Road in Sinsa dong, Seoul on May 25. In the three flagship stores, customers can experience brand items on the first floor, and objects inspiring makeup artists on the second floor’s artist room.…
French leather good house Louis Vuitton is embracing its traveler heritage to bring its “Volez Voguez Voyagez” exhibit to Seoul, South Korea. Described as a 161-year voyage, Louis Vuitton’s Volez Voguez Voyagez retrospective opened in 2015 at Paris’ Grand…
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