Five Guys burger chain coming to S. Korea

Hanwha Galleria, the retail arm of Hanwha Solutions, will open the first branch of US fast food chain Five Guys in Seoul early next year, the company said Thursday, a day after its executive publicized it through his personal social media account. On Wednesday, Kim Dong-sun, head of strategic management at Hanwha Galleria, uploaded a photo of himself on Instagram shaking hands with William Peecher, director of international expansion at Five Guys Enterprise, with a hashtag that translates to &ld

Oct. 6, 2022

Hyundai Department Store to compensate staff, partners for Daejeon outlet fire

Hyundai Department Store said Wednesday it would compensate staff and partner companies suffering from a business void at Daejeon Hyundai Premium Outlet that caught fire last week that left seven deaths. The company will give 2.5 million won-3.5 million won ($1,760-$2,470) to around 1,000 managers and salespeople whose work has been suspended due to the post-fire shutdown. Refusing to disclose the exact number of staff and managers, a Hyundai Department Store official said “we will come up

Oct. 5, 2022

Sales of instant noodles surge to W1.3tr

  As time spent at home increased during the coronavirus pandemic, domestic sales of Korean instant noodles surged to 1.3 trillion won ($917 million) as of August, data showed Wednesday. According to data from market tracker Nielsen IQ Korea, combined sales of four local ramen makers -- Nongshim, Samyang, Ottogi and Paldo -- jumped 4.6 percent from last year’s 1.2 trillion won between January and August. In terms of market share, Nongshim sat atop with 55.7 percent, followed by Ottogi

Oct. 5, 2022

3 more Paris Baguette branches open in Paris

SPC Group has opened three more Paris Baguette stores in Paris this year to expand its business in the European market, the South Korean food and beverage giant said Tuesday. The latest Paris Baguette store is set to open in Montparnasse, a major commercial district in the southern part of Paris on Tuesday, local time. The opening of Paris Baguette Montparnasse branch follows two branch openings in February in other parts of the French capital -- in Boieldieu and Corolles. With a floor area of 1

Oct. 4, 2022

Retail industry looks offline to drive customer experience: report

  As Korea transitions to the endemic stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, the online-focused retail industry is shifting toward offline stores to enhance customer experience, a report showed Tuesday. Although the vacancy rate rose in commercial districts during the pandemic, retail brands are eyeing prime spaces to open pop-up or flagship stores, according to a report from commercial real estate platform Cushman & Wakefield Korea. For instance, Apple opened its second store in a new buildin

Oct. 4, 2022

Luxury home spa brand LBB issues NFTs for premium care service

La Boutique Bleue, a premium home spa care brand that launched in South Korea in 2021, introduced a non-fungible token certification service, the company said Friday. According to LBB, it has offered VIP membership cards in the form of NFTs to participants that took part in the launch event of the Italian luxury golf wear brand Filippo Piana in Seoul. LBB had collaborated with Filippo Piana in hosting the launch event by showcasing its newest product, Golden Camellia All Day Care Lotion, and off

Oct. 4, 2022

SPC's Paris Baguette ranked 25th among best franchise brands in US

South Korean food giant SPC Group said Sunday its coffeehouse-to-bakery brand Paris Baguette has ranked 25th among the best franchise brands evaluated by the US-based magazine Franchise Times. According to the Franchise Times Top 500, an annual ranking of the largest franchise brands by sales in the US, Paris Baguette's ranking jumped 13 spots from last year's 38th. Its ranking is the highest among Korean brands in the list this year. “Our 77 years of baking know-how, efficient bakery mana

Oct. 3, 2022

Lotte’s overseas spending exceeds W7tr this year

South Korean retail-to-chemical giant Lotte Group said Thursday its overseas investment has exceeded 7 trillion won ($4.9 billion) this year. So far, the largest overseas project is Lotte Chemical’s Line Project, a $3.9 billion megasized petrochemicals production complex in Banten, Indonesia. It aims to produce 1 million metric tons of ethylene, 520,000 tons of propylene, 250,000 tons of polypropylene and other petrochemical products by 2025. The chemicals unit also plans to build its f

Sept. 29, 2022

Korean businesses show greater appetite for vegan foods

With fast-growing interest in eco-friendly lifestyles, South Korean food companies are expanding plant-based menu items and restaurants to cater to the growing global vegan population of some 180 million. Nongshim, the country’s leading instant noodle maker, said Thursday it has launched eight kinds of plant-based "cup rice" (rice bowl with toppings), and porridge, in partnership with vegan restaurant Doosoogobang. Instead of spicy meat, cup rice comes with toppings such as na

Sept. 28, 2022

Thailand's Line Man Wongnai snaps ups $265m in funding

Global messaging app provider Line Corp. said Tuesday that Line Man Wongnai, its delivery platform operated in Thailand, has raised $265 million in a funding round led by Line Corp. and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC. Other investors in the Series B funding include BRV Capital Management, PTT Oil and Retail Business Public Co., Bualuang Ventures and Taiwan Mobile. With the new investment, Line Man Wongnai's value topped $1 billion, becoming Thailand's largest tech startup unicorn. The

Sept. 27, 2022

Kolon FnC to launch upcycled bags featuring BTS stage outfits

South Korean textile company Kolon Industries FnC said Wednesday it will launch an upcycled bag collection featuring pieces of stage outfits worn by BTS, through its fashion brand Re;cod, on Sept. 28. Upcycling refers to the creative reuse of old products to create new merchandise of greater quality or value. The limited edition collection includes three types of bags made from white industrial airbags. Each bag is attached with a piece from a concert outfit one of the seven BTS members wore. Th

Sept. 21, 2022

S. Korea to see surge in milk price amid worsening inflation

Dairy product prices are likely to go up again as the price of locally produced milk is expected to increase as much as 500 won ($0.36) per liter, industry sources said Tuesday. Korea Dairy Committee, a private organization that oversees fair distribution of raw milk, carried out the first meeting between dairy farmers and dairy companies on Tuesday to negotiate the price of raw milk for this year. Even before the negotiation, the price of milk was widely expected to jump 300-500 won to 2,700-3,

Sept. 20, 2022

Inflation fears loom large as kimchi-making season nears

South Korean households are feeling the inflation pinch as they brace for the annual kimchi-making season later this year. The average price for 10 kilograms of cabbages, the key ingredient for kimchi, surged on-year by 116.6 percent to 32,940 won ($23.7) as of Sept. 16, data from the state-run Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. showed. The price of 20 kg of white radish, which are fermented in spicy sauce and other flavorful seasoning, skyrocketed by 146.1 percent to 28,460 won in the

Sept. 19, 2022

After Chuseok, Koreans to face further restaurant inflation

With inflation showing no signs of abating, South Koreans are likely to suffer more financial burden from eating out after the Chuseok holiday, as even low-cost foods like gimbap see a surge in price. The average price of gimbap, one of the more budget-friendly meals, in Seoul surged 2.6 percent to surpass the 3,000 won ($2.2) mark as of August compared to a month earlier, according to data from the Korea Consumer Agency. Among restaurant meals, the price of pork belly increased the most, fro

Sept. 8, 2022

More Koreans refuse to cook for Chuseok

Kim kyung-hee, a housewife in her 60s, who hated the idea of laying out store-bought meals on a “jesa” table, which is usually placed with homemade food to honor ancestors, is considering buying one or two packaged meals this year for the Chuseok holiday. “With rising inflation, it is just too expensive to buy all the food ingredients from markets. But mostly, I don’t want to burden my son and daughter-in-law, asking them to help in the kitchen,” Kim said. &ldquo

Sept. 6, 2022

[Photo News] Chuseok energy

A wholesale market in Incheon is crowded with shoppers buying food ahead of Chuseok, the Korean thanksgiving holiday that kicks off on Friday.

Sept. 6, 2022

Lotte Group to build eco smart city, logistics center in Vietnam

South Korean retail giant Lotte Group said Sunday it will build an eco-friendly smart city complex and smart logistics center in Vietnam, as part of its expansion plan to cement a strong foothold in Southeast Asia. Under the $900 million Thu Tiem Eco Smart City project, the company plans to construct a 60-story building, with another five floors underground, comprising a shopping mall, cinema, office space, hotel, residences and apartments in Ho Chi Minh City. For the residential area, a big

Sept. 4, 2022

Retailers race to make next Pokemon Bread

Piggybacking on SPC Samlip’s Pokemon Bread craze, South Korean food companies are using animated characters on their product packaging to appeal to customers with a desire to collect nostalgic items. Convenience store chain 7-Eleven said Wednesday it has sold more than 250,000 rolls of its recently launched Digimon Bread in a week. The pastry comes with a sticker of one of 182 characters from the Japanese anime television series “Digimon Adventure” -- a key rival of the Poke

Aug. 31, 2022

Coupang to file law suit against NGO on false allegations

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang said Tuesday it will take legal action against People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, a local NGO, for spreading false information on the company’s audit report. The NGO said in a statement that Coupang is illegally aiding its subsidiary called CPLB by receiving only 2.55 percent commission while demanding around 31.2 percent commission to other sellers. The 31.2 percent includes advertising fee and standard brokerage fee, it claimed.

Aug. 30, 2022

KT&G to build new packaging factory in Sejong

South Korean tobacco company KT&G said Monday it plans to build a new eco-friendly tobacco packaging factory in the central administrative hub of Sejong City. Under the 180 billion won ($133.5 million) project, the factory will be constructed at Sejong Mirae Industrial Estate, a government-developed area for local manufacturing companies, by 2025. KT&G said the factory will produce tobacco packaging such as cigarette papers and boxes, based on a cutting-edge logistics automation syste

Aug. 29, 2022