E-mart to launch operations in Mongolia in July

[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s No. 1 discount store chain E-mart will open its first outlet in Mongolia on July 28, according to local news reports. The retail chain of Shinsegae Group has been in talks with Altai Holdings, a local trading firm, since 2013 to open the franchise and signed a memorandum of understanding the same year. The process, however, was delayed due to the retailer’s internal issues.Altai Holdings will be in charge of running the store while E-mart will have a stake of 10 perc

July 14, 2016

Ikea refuses to recall dressers in Korea after selling 100,000 units

[THE INVESTOR] Ikea, the Swedish furniture giant, has sold some 100,000 units of dressers that have been blamed for the deaths of at least six toddlers in falling accidents. While the company is extending its recent recall to China, it is still reluctant to do so in Korea, citing local regulations. Ikea’s recalled dressersRep. Kwack Dae-woon of the ruling Saenuri Party on July 13 urged the company to recall the Ikea dressers, saying all the products, about 36 million units, are recalled in the U

July 13, 2016

K-beauty franchises expand presence in China, US

[THE INVESTOR] Innisfree, AmorePacific’s nature-oriented line, opened a store in Shanghai Disneyland, the company announced on July 13. This is the first cosmetics store in the Chinese Disney Town where more than 50 brands are vying for visitors’ attention. In line with the company’s spirit, Innisfree will offer a wide range of products based on Jejudo Island’s nature. Customers can take pictures in front of a huge installation piece made of recycled bottles or experience virtual flying over Jej

July 13, 2016

Dayou Winia to supply rice cookers to Haier’s Casarte

[THE INVESTOR] Dayou Winia, Korean appliance maker best known for its kimchi refrigerators, said on July 13 that it will supply the first batch of 2,000 rice cookers to Casarte, a premium appliance brand owned by China’s Haier Group. The rice cookers, named the Dimchae Cook, will be sold through Haier’s some 33,600 sales outlets nationwide in China. The Korean firm plans to supply a total of 5,000 rice cookers to Casarte this year and to expand the number to more than 30,000 next year. On July 4

July 13, 2016

Hanwha Galleria duty-free outlet refurbished for grand opening

[THE INVESTOR] Hanwha Galleria will hold a grand opening event on July 15 for its downtown duty-free store that had a limited opening in December inside the 63 Building in Yeouido, western Seoul. Located on a 10,072 square-meter site, the outlet of the duty-free store business unit of Hanwha Group has attracted some 530 international brands even though it failed to host the so-called “Big 3” fashion houses -- Chanel, Hermes and Louis Vuitton. Hanwha Galleria started operations since it earned op

July 12, 2016

AmorePacific suffers in Europe

[THE INVESTOR] AmorePacific has been thriving in Korea and China, ranking as the 14th biggest cosmetics company in the world (WWD Beauty, 2015) by revenue. In Europe, however, the K-beauty giant has been barely making its mark.Its European operations posted 10.1 billion (US$8.77 million) net loss last year, according to its regulatory filing released on July 11, for two years in a row. Its revenue dropped 22.9 percent on-year to 49.2 billion won. AmorePacific has pulled the plug on its skincare

July 12, 2016

Lotte Homeshopping CEO resummoned, this time as suspect

[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Homeshopping chief executive Kang Hyun-koo will be questioned on July 12 for his involvement in the Lotte Group(chairman Shin Dong-bin) affiliate’s alleged irregularities that include creating slush funds. This is the second time he was summoned since July 9 when Kang was questioned as a witness. This time he will be the first Lotte CEO to be questioned as a suspect. Kang faces allegations that he attained government approval for Lotte Homeshopping in 2015 through illegal me

July 12, 2016

Lotte most frequent violator of fair trade laws: watchdog data

[THE INVESTOR] Lotte Group was the most frequent violator of Korean fair trade laws among the country’s top 10 conglomerates, according to a local legislator on July 11.Citing data from the Fair Trade Commission, Yoo Eui-dong of Saenuri Party said Lotte violated related laws on 73 different occasions between 2013 and 2015.This was the highest among the 10 largest industrial groups in South Korea.Of the 93 Lotte affiliates, Lotte Shopping’s violations reached nine, followed by Woori Homeshopping

July 11, 2016

MBK Partners denies reports on hefty dividends from Homeplus

[THE INVESTOR] MBK Partners on July 8 denied that the nation's largest equity firm will receive hefty dividends from Homeplus, a cash-strapped supermarket chain that it acquired from Britain’s Tesco last year. 　Homeplus Holdings, the de facto holding company of Homeplus, has recently decided to pay an interim dividend of 30,612 won (US$26) per share on 700,000 preferred shares owned by its largest shareholder Korea Retail Investment. 　Following the decision, recent news reports said, MBK, which

July 8, 2016

Korean cosmetics makers fear losses from THAAD deployment

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean retailers and cosmetics companies are closely watching China’s moves after Korea and the US decided to deploy an advance missile defense system in the country on July 8. Neighboring China lodged a swift protest against the decision announced in the morning which is expected to further heighten geopolitical risks. Local cosmetics makers and duty-free shops are on alert as they worry about losing Chinese market and consumers who account for a growing portion of their re

July 8, 2016

Pororo producer Iconix Entertainment faces tax probe

[THE INVESTOR] Iconix Entertainment, the company that produces famed South Korean animation “Pororo the Little Penguin” is undergoing a tax investigation, according to the company on July 8.National Tax Service officials collected financial statements from the firm’s Gyeonggi headquarters in May. Choi Jong-il, head of Iconix, told local media that the investigation was a regular audit conducted on Korean companies every five years.Iconix was established in 2001. Since then it has launched a numb

July 8, 2016

Korean boy group Big Bang earned more than Maroon 5 in 2015: report

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean boy group Big Bang made more money last year than the American popular rock band Maroon 5, according to a US media report. Forbes magazine on July 6 (local time) reported that Big Bang’s pretax earnings stood at US$ 44 million in 2015, more than the US$ 33.5 million racked up by Maroon 5, the American group that was selected as one of the highest-paid musicians in 2015 by Billboard. Big Bang members (from left): Seungri, G-Dragon, Taeyang, T.O.P and Daesung. / YG Ente

July 8, 2016

Business hotels flourishing in downtown Seoul

 [THE INVESTOR] Mid-priced hotels are on the rise in downtown Seoul, especially in Dongdaemun area and Myeong-dong, to meet the demand of rising foreign tourists opting for budget options, industry officials said. Accor-Ambassador Korea recently opened Ibis Ambassador Dongdaemun in the popular shopping district, offering 242 rooms. This is the second hotel in the area by the Korean unit of the French hotel, after Ibis Budget Ambassador Seoul Dongdaemun. Lotte City Hotel Myeongdong located in the

July 8, 2016

Coway recalls water purifiers containing nickel

[THE INVESTOR] Water purifier rental company Coway has decided to recall its ice water purifiers amid public outcry over the company’s cover-up of defective products containing nickel. “We deeply apologize to consumers regarding some of the ice water purifiers,” the company said in a statement on July 6. “We decided to compensate all buyers of the products to alleviate their concern.”The official apology posted by Coway on its website.The company said it will recall all three disputed models --

July 7, 2016