Lotte Duty Free said Sunday that its third duty-free store in Vietnam has opened at Hanoi’s Noi Bai International Airport, a year after its second outlet was launched in Nha Trang. Spanning over 506 square meters, the store inside the departure area in Hanoi Airport sells perfumes, cosmetics, liquor, tobacco, food, and more, from 90 brands. It also exclusively sells products from 21 brands including South Korea’s History of Whoo. The duty-free operator said it expects sales at t

Industry July 28, 2019

For many coffee lovers, summer signals a switch to cold brews.At Starbucks, a seasonal offering has been so well received by Korean customers that the company has just weeks ago decided to put it on its regular menu for the whole year round. Launched originally as a summer drink in April, the espresso-based Dolce Cold Brew combines two of the coffee franchise’s bestselling items -- Cold Brew and Dolce Latte. It only uses cold brew that was slow-steeped in cool water for 14 hours. 

Industry July 25, 2019

These days, Kim Hyun-jin feels uneasy telling others where he works. “I have been working at Uniqlo for two years as a part-timer. I am proud of my workplace. It is a fun place to work, with nice people and relatively a good amount of pay,” said the 25-year-old student majoring in fashion at a university, who agreed to speak under a pseudonym.“But now, when I say I work at Uniqlo, people think I’m doing something very wrong and it makes me feel very uncomfortable. I

Industry July 25, 2019

South Korea’s largest e-commerce retailer Coupang’s service froze for several hours on Wednesday morning showing all products “out of stock,” with customers unable to place orders or make payments.The outage on Coupang’s mobile application and website started at 7 a.m. Although customers could add items to their shopping cart they were unable to proceed with the order.Coupang attributed the problem to a technical glitch. While customers could start buying some

Industry July 24, 2019

South Korea’s major retailers and e-commerce companies such as E-mart, Lotte Mart and Coupang are likely to see their sales and performance having deteriorated in the second quarter, according to market analysts on Tuesday.Stock analysts said Tuesday that the industry’s top discount store chain operator E-mart is highly likely to run into the red in the second quarter, recording about 4.7 billion won ($3.9 million), or up to 10.5 billion won, in losses from operations.  “E

Industry July 23, 2019

It is no easy decision for a brand to abandon its original concept and transform a product lineup, especially when it comes to a luxury whisky.Royal Salute, whose distillery dates back to 1801, is best known for being the only scotch whisky in the world with a lineup that begins from 21 years of maturity. The Royal Salute 21 Year Old was launched in 1953 to commemorate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, named after the traditional 21-gun salute.Making a twist to its rich heritage, the br

Industry July 22, 2019

South Korean full-service carrier Korean Air said Friday that it has opened the Cloud Command Center, which can manage and control all its server data, networks and security around the clock.　 According to the air carrier, this is the first time a Korean full-service carrier will operate its own IT system cloud. It is also the first time a top Korean conglomerates has adopted such a system. 　In November last year, Korean Air clinched a deal with LG CNS and Amazon Web Service to transfer its data

Industry July 19, 2019

Kia Motors began selling its new compact sports utility vehicle Seltos on Thursday, which the automaker called it a “game changer” in the global small SUV market which has doubled in size over the last five years. The Seltos, which was unveiled in India last month, can be characterized by its spacious interior with 498 liters of trunk space and a relatively long car body at 4,375 millimeters -- the longest in the small SUV category, according to Kia. &ld

Mobility July 18, 2019

The Korea International Trade Association said Wednesday that it would open a consulting and research center to support small and midsized enterprises in Korea within the second half of this year.According to KITA, the opening of such center, dubbed Center for Trade Information and Strategy, is to offer useful help for small and midsized companies which often encounter trade risks due to lack of personnel and material resources.  KITA said the center will run strategic and customized consul

Industry July 17, 2019

South Korean exports of environment-friendly cars, such as hybrid and electric vehicles, soared over the seven years ending last year as global demand shifted away from combustion-engine cars, industry data showed Tuesday. The data from the Korea Automobile Manufacturer Association showed that from 2012 to 2018, the country’s automotive exports fell by an annual average of 4.2 percent, but exports of eco-friendly cars rose by an average of 33.1 percent per year.A total of 196,000 eco-

Mobility July 16, 2019

South Korea’s full-service carrier Asiana Airlines said Monday that it has adopted a smart work platform called A-tab for its cabin crew to increase their work efficiency and convenience. The system,which works on a tablet PC, allows crew members to easily and conveniently check their work schedule, information on flights, work manual and also hand in work-related reports, the air carrier said. Some 4,000 cabin crew members will be given tablet PCs equipped with the system by the

Industry July 15, 2019

Posco International, the trade and resources development arm of Posco, said Sunday that it had sent some 30 executives and employees to Papua, Indonesia, to perform volunteer work. Together with 30 medical experts from Korea University Ansan Hospital, the Women’s Health Foundation and Seegene Medical Foundation, the Korean volunteer team conducted medical checkups for some 1,160 residents in Indonesia’s eastern province of Papua from July 6 to Saturday. Posco International&rsquo

Industry July 15, 2019

Shilla Duty Free, South Korea’s second-largest duty-free operator in terms of sales, has seen a twofold jump in number of Chinese customers on its online mall following the introduction of WeChat Pay, the company said Monday.According to the duty free operator, the number of customers who joined Shilla Duty Free’s Chinese online mall has surged as of July, compared to in March when it introduced WeChat Pay as one of its payment options. WeChat is China’s most popular mobil

Industry July 15, 2019

BMW’s 620d Gran Tourismo, the German carmaker’s new entry-level diesel variant of the 6 series, was released in the Korean market in April. Since then, a total of 314 cars have been sold as of the first week of July.When the Korea Herald drove the 620d GT on the 40 kilometer route from Seoul Station to a cafe in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, the car’s concept was distinctive -- a luxury sedan with functionality and spaciousness but still stylish in its coupe frame. &n

Mobility July 14, 2019

With the popularity of larger, spacious cars globally, South Korea saw sales of recreational vehicles hit 300,000 units in the first half of the year. According to five major carmakers here -- Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, SsangYong Motors, Renault Samsung and General Motors -- a total of 303,315 RVs were sold here from January to June. This accounted for 48.4 percent of total sales of cars here, an increase of about 3 percentage points from the same period the previous year. RVs refer to

Mobility July 14, 2019