Fashion for handicapped, Heartist collaborates with Beanpole

Samsung C&T’s fashion unit said Monday its business casual brand for the handicapped, Heartist will roll out a new line of clothes in collaboration with its other brand Beanpole, to celebrate the first anniversary of Heartist. Heartist, which was launched in April 2019, is the first fashion brand for the handicapped, introduced by a conglomerate here. Under the concept of “Fashion for All Abilities,” the brand presents business casual products specially designed for thos

April 20, 2020

HiteJinro’s Ilpoom Jinro wins Gold award in Monde Selection 2020

HiteJinro, a South Korean liquor maker, said Monday two of its premium soju products won Gold awards in the Monde Selection 2020 for the second consecutive year. According to the company, its Ilpoom Jinro 1924, a 100-percent distilled soju, and limited edition Ilpoom Jinro 19 years were chosen for the top Gold award. Monde Selection is an annual non-competitive award open to food, drinks, and cosmetics products since 1961. It is run by International Institute for Quality Selections based in

April 20, 2020

Nongshim rolls out Chapaguri cup noodle from ‘Parasite’

Nongshim said Monday it is launching a ready-made instant Chapaguri cup noodle, which has garnered global popularity after being prominently featured in the Oscar-winning film “Parasite.” Chapaguri -- translated as “ram-don” in English subtitles in the movie -- is a mixture of Nongshim’s Chapaghetti black bean instant noodles and soup-based Neoguri ramen. The new Chapaguri product will be in the form of instant cup noodles, and it will be released in Korea firs

April 20, 2020

89% of 20-40s shop online for their parents: Auction

With online shopping booming amid the COVID-19 pandemic, elderly parents are also taking part in the shopping culture with the help of their children, data showed Thursday. According to Auction, an ecommerce platform operated by eBay, over 89 percent of 2,564 customers aged 20-49 surveyed, have shopped online for their parents. The survey was conducted from March 28 to April 4. For reasons to shop on behalf of their parents, 35 percent of the respondents said it was because their parents we

April 16, 2020

[Monitor] E-commerce giant Coupang now bigger than offline retailer Lotte Mart

Coupang became the first Korean e-commerce company to surpass 7 trillion won ($5.75 billion) mark in annual sales, getting ahead of offline retailer Lotte Mart, one of the three biggest discount store chains in the country. According to Coupang’s audit report Tuesday, it recorded 7.15 trillion won in sales in 2019, a 64.2 percent surge from 4.35 trillion won in 2018, while operating loss decreased by more than 400 billion won, to 720 billion won from 1.12 trillion won. Meanwhile, Lott

April 16, 2020

Caremile sees surge in quarantine goods orders from foreign governments

Korean safety solution company Caremile said Tuesday it is seeing a rapid surge in orders of Korean-made diagnostic kits and quarantine goods from various countries, including Ukraine, Poland, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Mexico, Iraq and Malaysia, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Caremile, which has rights for Solgent’s global special sale, for instance, exported the “Solgent COVID-19 DiaPlexQ Detection Kit” that can be used for 100,000 people on March 27 upon an emergency request from Uk

April 15, 2020

In coronavirus pandemic, ‘lipstick effect’ gives way to ‘eyeliner effect’

Ever heard of the lipstick effect? Some say lipstick acts as the barometer of an economy -- lipstick sales go up when consumer sentiment weakens during economic recessions as people tend to treat themselves with lower-cost indulgences. When the US economy slumped in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks, lipstick sales increased by about 11 percent in the second half of the year compared to the first half. This led Estee Lauder Chairman Leonard Lauder to coin the term “lipstick index.” &

April 14, 2020

Popularity of S. Korea as tourist destination grows for 6th year in a row: poll

A government poll showed Monday that the global popularity of South Korea as a tourist destination increased for the sixth consecutive year in 2019, thanks to the promotional effects of the country's globally loved cultural content sector. According to the 2019 poll on the effect of tourism marketing, released by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), the level of foreigners' recognition of South Korea as a tourist destination rose by 1.1 percent

April 13, 2020

Duty free giants withdraw from Incheon airport first time

Duty-free operators, including local No. 1 Lotte Duty Free and runner-up Shilla Duty Free, have given up their preferred bidder positions for operation licenses at Incheon Airport, amid the ongoing tug-of-war between the companies and airport over rental fees. It is the first time for the conglomerates to withdraw from signing operation contracts due to rental prices, according to industry sources Friday. Incheon International Airport Corp. announced the preferred bidders to operate eight ai

April 10, 2020

Fila Korea collaborates with BTS to launch Love Yourself Collection

Fila Korea said Thursday that it had collaborated with BTS to launch the Love Yourself Collection -- 12 new items of clothing and shoes celebrating the K-pop boy group’s hit album. The FILA X BTS Love Yourself Collection is inspired by the artwork and graphic elements in the music videos for BTS hits “DNA” and “Idol,” released respectively in 2017 and 2018, the company said. According to the South Korean sportswear brand, the FILA X BTS Love Yourself Collection

April 9, 2020

Over 10m use McDonald’s drive-thru platform in Q1

McDonald’s Korea said Thursday more than 10 million cars made orders from McDrive, its drive-thru platform, in the first quarter of this year, surging sharply amid the COVID-19 outbreak. According to the burger chain, March saw the highest number of users for the drive-thru service, and sales went up by 30 percent on-year. The average value per order also rose by 15 percent. As people avoid face-to-face transactions with the social distancing trend, the burger chain said about 60 percen

April 9, 2020

Sunscreen sales on the rise, despite face masks

With the weather warming up in South Korea, sunscreen sales are on the rise -- despite the “new normal” of wearing face masks due to the COVID-19 outbreak, industry sources said Tuesday. According to CJ Olive Young, a health and beauty store chain here, sales of sunblock jumped 81 percent from March 30 to Sunday, compared with the same period a month earlier (March 2 to 8). Among them, organic or carbon-based sunscreen products were the most popular, witnessing a 132 percent incre

April 8, 2020

[Graphic News] Retail sales up 9.1% in Feb. amid virus pandemic

　Retail sales in South Korea rose 9.1 percent in February from a year earlier as more people purchased daily necessities through online platforms amid the spread of the new coronavirus here, data showed. 　The combined sales of 26 major offline and online retailers reached 10.6 trillion won ($8.68 billion) last month, compared with 9.71 trillion won a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. 　The sharp increase came as online stores enjoyed a w

April 7, 2020

[Newsmaker] From drive-thru markets to flower challenges, virus-hit businesses go creative

Small businesses and local governments in South Korea are testing out creative ideas as they seek to overcome a slump stemming from the new coronavirus that has infected more than 10,000 here. In the southern cities of Gimhae and Seosan, farmers have set up drive-thru markets to sell vegetables and fruit, taking a cue from the government's successful drive-thru virus screening centers. A package of 11 kinds of vegetables is being sold for 20,000 won (A social media challenge aimed at helping

April 7, 2020

Homeplus exports toilet paper to Singapore

South Korean hypermarket chain Homeplus said Monday it was exporting toilet paper to Singapore, which has a shortage of daily necessities as its trade partners close borders amid the COVID-19 outbreak. According to the company, it is selling 2,000 packs of its private brand product Simplus toilet paper and facial tissues to Qoo10, a Singapore-based e-commerce firm. The products departed from Busan Port for delivery to Singapore on Monday. The two types of Simplus products are to be sold on

April 6, 2020

P&G rolls out new fabric softener Downy Spring Garden

P&G rolled out Downy Spring Garden on Monday, a new product of its fabric softener Downy Botanis Perfume collection. Downy Spring Garden boasts the delicate scent of spring, allowing customers to enjoy a spring garden from inside their homes, the company said. The product boasts a relatively gentle fragrance and is highly concentrated so users can put in a third of the normal amount for the same effect as its other fabric softeners, the company said. “Downy Botanis Perfume Colle

April 6, 2020

Starbucks Korea to limit seating in social distancing efforts

Starbucks Korea said Monday that it will limit seating at its outlets across the country, joining a nationwide social distancing campaign amid the novel coronavirus outbreak. The coffee chain said tables and chairs will be placed between one and 1 1/2 meters apart to keep customers at a distance from one another. Starbucks has already adopted such a system at some of its outlets in Daegu and the surrounding North Gyeongsang Province, the epicenters of the COVID-19 outbreak here. "Socia

April 6, 2020

Korea lifts ban on online liquor sales

As of Friday, South Korean consumers can freely order alcoholic drinks online and pay via internet or with a mobile app. With a ban on online purchases of liquor lifted, convenience stores and hypermarket chains stand to benefit, according to the industry. Changes to the Liquor Tax Act came into effect Friday allowing retailers, including restaurants, hypermarkets and convenience stores, to sell alcoholic beverages on mobile apps and on the internet. But delivery is still banned, so custome

April 6, 2020

Amorepacific launches eye shadow palette for men

Amorepacific’s male cosmetics brand BeREADY said Thursday it has launched a new eye shadow palette for men. BeREADY, which was introduced last year, said it rolled out the Mood Up Shadow Eye Palette, the first eye palette product in the market to be developed for men. The brand said the range of cosmetics used by men are expanding from skin base creams to color items. The four colors of the eye palette are chosen based on how well they blend and can also be used for facial contouring,

April 2, 2020

Pengsoo creates hit for retailers

Pengsoo, a popular costumed penguin character from educational television network EBS, is sweeping the local retail market, with sales rocketing. GS25, a convenience store chain here, said Thursday its collaboration products with Pengsoo is hitting record sales. GS25 rolled out four Pengsoo-themed fresh food items, including tuna sandwich and gimbab (seaweed rice-roll), two umbrellas and four socks on March 27. Over 200,000 orders were made from its convenience stores on the first day of la

April 2, 2020