Luxury hotels slash VIP benefits to brace for lackluster year

Popular hotel chains are tightening criteria for VIP memberships and slashing generous benefits in a move to brace for lackluster sales next year, according to industry sources on Tuesday. Starting Jan. 1, Lotte Hotel, the nation’s largest hotel chain, will raise the bar to qualify for its Rewards Membership. Currently, classic, silver, gold and platinum memberships are awarded based on the customer's number of stays at Lotte chain hotels nationwide. A customer must now stay over at a

Dec. 20, 2022

[Photo News] Wishing tree

A promotional poster for Paris Baguette's Christmas seasonal cake "Snow Wishing Tree" is pictured. The coffeehouse-to-bakery chain, owned by SPC Group, has unveiled this year's Christmas cake lineup consisting of five tree-shaped cakes.

Dec. 20, 2022

Fashion powerhouse inks exclusive contracts with overseas designer brands

Hyundai Department Store's fashion retail arm Handsome said Thursday it inked three separate exclusive domestic distribution contracts with foreign designer brands, in a drive to expand its overseas fashion portfolio. The fashion retailer clinched exclusive deals with US designer brands Gabriela Hearst, Veronica Beard and Swedish fashion brand Toteme. French luxury brand Chloe's creative director Gabriela Hearst's eponymous clothing brand was launched in the US in 2015 and focuses

Dec. 15, 2022

Ministry bets big on fostering food-tech startups

In a bid to strengthen the nation's food technology industry, the government unveiled its plan on Wednesday to incubate 30 unicorn startups and aim to quadruple food-tech related exports by 2027. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, food-tech refers to a newly rising industry which applies state-of-the-art technologies such as biotechnology, and artificial intelligence to various processes including preservation, processing, packaging, distribution, and use of

Dec. 14, 2022

[Herald Interview] Retail mogul calls for diaspora support

Administrative and financial support to over 7 million ethnic Koreans living outside South Korea has largely remained insufficient, despite their contributions to the growth of Korea's export-driven economy, claimed a supermarket boss who runs over 130 stores in Vietnam. "Businesses run by ethnic Koreans overseas have been at the forefront of the Korean economy," said Ko Sang-goo, president of the Vietnam-based K-Market supermarket chain operator K&K Global Trading Co., in a r

Dec. 14, 2022

Pulmuone supplies plant-based food to 18 US universities

South Korean food giant Pulmuone’s US affiliate Pulmuone Foods USA said Tuesday it has secured deals with 18 major US university campuses to supply plant-based foods. Pulmuone had forayed into the US market in 2014, working with one of the US’ largest college food service providers UMass Dining to supply plant-based food products such as vegan steaks to universities and restaurant chains. Under its partnership with UMass Dining, the food giant signed a contract to supply its plant-ba

Dec. 13, 2022

[Graphic News] Imports of leisure equipment up 2.5% through October

South Korea’s imports of camping and hiking equipment rose 2.5 percent on-year through October this year, data showed Wednesday, as more people enjoyed activities avoiding crowds amid the pandemic. The combined imports of leisure equipment, including camping and hiking gear, came to $304 million in the January-October period, rising from $297 million posted a year earlier, data compiled by the Korea Customs Service showed. It also marked a sharp rise from just $148 million posted for all o

Dec. 12, 2022

2023 retail outlook worse than pre-pandemic levels: survey

Over half of retail business owners, or 55.3 percent, who were surveyed projected a gloomy outlook for 2023, as business sentiment among them seemed worse than pre-pandemic levels. According to a survey conducted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 300 retail business owners that was released Sunday, respondents predicted an average of 1.8 percent growth in the retail sector next year, compared to this year’s estimated 5.9 percent growth. “Despite expectations about econ

Dec. 11, 2022

Clothing prices hit all-time high in a decade

Apparel prices surged by the largest margin in more than a decade last month, government data showed Monday. According to data from the Korean Statistical Information Service, in November, the consumer price index for clothing and shoes in the country put prices at 107.33 -- up 5.5 percent from the same month last year. CPI gauges the measure of the average change in prices for a fixed-market basket, or a fixed list of goods and services of constant quantity, purchased by South Korean consumers

Dec. 5, 2022

Oriental Brewery's Cass tops beer market in October

Oriental Brewery's flagship beer brand Cass secured the top market share in the domestic beer market in October and seeks to continue its momentum via various promotions related to the World Cup, said the country's largest beer maker Wednesday. According to market research firm Nielsen Korea, Cass logged the largest market share in the off-trade market for the beer industry in October. Off-trade market refers to retail outlets such as hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores and

Nov. 30, 2022

Chinese beer imports make strong comeback

Among imported beers, Chinese brands were imported the most to South Korea according to data on Tuesday -- successfully reclaiming the top position after weathering dwindling profitability for years due to a nationwide reluctance to use Chinese products during the pandemic. According to data from the Korea Customs Service, $31.16 million of Chinese beer was imported into the country in October -- the highest total for imported beer from one country for the month. The data shows a drastic recover

Nov. 30, 2022

Retail sales up 7.3% in October on growing outdoor activities

Retail sales in South Korea grew 7.3 percent on-year in October, as people's outdoor activities and demand for various services grew amid eased antivirus curbs, data showed Tuesday. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers came to 14.66 trillion won ($10.95 billion) last month, compared with 13.7 trillion won a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. It marked the eighth consecutive month of on-year rise, though the grow

Nov. 29, 2022

Breaking the glass ceiling: Chaebol groups make breakthrough with female leaders

A wind of change may be blowing at the nation’s male-dominant corporate culture, with more women getting promoted to take top seats amid year-end reshuffles. LG Group last week tapped two female CEOs to lead its key affiliates – Lee Jung-ae for its retail arm LG Household & Health and Park Ae-ri for its advertising unit G II R. It was the first time not just for LG, South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate, but for one of the nation’s top five chaebol groups, to appo

Nov. 27, 2022

Victorinox partners with Off-White to roll out limited edition knife

Swiss watch-to-knife manufacturer Victorinox said Sunday it is collaborating with Italian street fashion brand Off-White to launch a limited edition multi-tool. The limited edition Swiss Army knife is a flagship product of “Equipment,” a special lineup showcased by Off-White in collaboration with South Korean men’s fashion brand Post Archive Faction. The Italian firm had welcomed Victorinox to collaborate on the knife as part of the project. The tool’s design is based on

Nov. 27, 2022

Retailers brace for gloomy 2023

Business leaders and experts gathered Tuesday at the headquarters of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss the current bearings of South Korean retail industries and plans they should undertake going forward. Woo Tae-hee, executive vice chairman of the KCCI, said that according to a survey conducted by the KCCI, "worsening consumer confidence" was chosen by some 300 retail industries in the country as the top issue to tackle for the years ahead. "Consumer confidenc

Nov. 22, 2022

When gummies, Coke and ice cream become art

To enter “Haribo World,” you'll pass through multiple gates shaped like the brand's famous gummy bears. Inside a room at the end of the passage, the signature Goldbears come alive via media art that covers the entire wall, ceiling to floor. At this exhibition, currently underway at Annyeong Insa-dong's Insa Central Museum in central Seoul, the inspiration obviously is children’s and many adults’ favorite gummy -- Haribo Goldbears. Opened in October this yea

Nov. 22, 2022

Losing on home turf: Korea’s kimchi trade deficit returns

South Korea’s imports of kimchi, a staple of almost every meal, reached an all-time high last month, with soaring ingredient costs driving up prices of domestically made kimchi amid inflation fears. In October, kimchi shipments from overseas surged by 50.9 percent compared to a year earlier to $17.02 million, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. The figure showed a 16.2 percent increase from the previous month. It is the first time monthly imports surpassed the $17 million m

Nov. 16, 2022

Medicube operator eyes IPO on upbeat sales

APR, operator of Korean street fashion brand Nerdy and dermocosmetics brand Medicube, said Tuesday it posted record-high sales in the third quarter this year. The company’s sales surged on-year by 306 percent to 95 billion won ($72 million) while its net income jumped 81 percent to 12 billion won from July to September. Accumulated sales and income through the third quarter were 269 billion won and 18 billion won, respectively, surpassing last year’s performance. The company attrib

Nov. 15, 2022

Milk inflation accelerates

With the upcoming milk price hike slated for this week, South Korean consumers are likely to see a series of price increase in bread, butter and dairy products -- everyday low-cost items -- worsening the already soaring inflation. Seoul Dairy Cooperative, the largest supplier of milk and dairy products here, recently announced it will increase the price of milk and dairy products around 6 percent starting Thursday. A 1-liter carton of the company’s milk will be at least 2,800 won ($2.10) i

Nov. 13, 2022

Dairy company Purmil reverses course on business termination

South Korean dairy company Purmil's announcement of its business termination, which stirred nationwide controversy for unilaterally firing its employees, had been upended as of Thursday. According to a statement from Purmil, the company will be normalizing its business operations but will still downsize 30 percent of its workforce to increase management efficiency. The announcement was made after an agreement was reached between management and labor, it added. The company intends to continu

Nov. 10, 2022