The Korea Customs Service is expected to diversify delivery channels of duty-free items bought by travelers, as part of measures to improve duty-free operations at airports, officials said Tuesday.The customs office received a set of suggestions from its task force to review ways to make it easier for travelers to receive preordered goods at airports, along with ways to run duty-free businesses in a more transparent manner. Travelers wait to receive preordered goods at Incheon International Airp

Industry June 26, 2018

South Korean retail giant Shinsegae’s warehouse-style supermarket E-mart Traders is threatening its US rival Costco, heading off with stellar sales growth.According to the company, E-mart Traders saw accumulated sales of 755.1 billion won ($677 million) from January to May this year, an about 28.3 percent jump year-on-year.   (Yonhap)The company posted solid 30 percent on-year growth in sales for the last three consecutive years. It reached sales of 1.52 trillion won in 2017, up 27.2 percent fro

Industry June 26, 2018

Two airplanes collided at Gimpo Airport around 8:10 a.m., resulting in damage to the jets and delays in takeoff, the Transport Ministry said Tuesday.Asiana Airlines A330’s wing crashed with the tail of the Korean Air B777 that was waiting near the taxiway, breaking its wing as well as the other plane’s tail and wing. The Korean Air flight was bound for Osaka, and the Asiana Airlines’ plane for Beijing.The collision delayed the departure of both planes by four hours, authorities said.  (Ministry

Industry June 26, 2018

With South Korean retail giant Shinsegae obtaining two licenses to operate duty-free stores at Incheon Airport’s Terminal 1, competition between fast-growing travel retailers is expected to intensify, industry experts said Monday. Shinsegae’s duty-free store in Incheon Airport. (Shinsegae DF)Shingsegae DF Global -- the third-largest duty-free operator following Lotte and Shilla in terms of market share -- was picked as the sole operator for two duty-free zones Friday. The areas were vacated by L

Industry June 25, 2018

Foreign liquor companies in Korea are increasingly reeling from plunging sales in recent years, data showed Friday.According to global liquor research institute IWSR, South Korea’s whiskey sales recorded 1.66 million boxes last year, a fall of about 1.18 boxes from 2007. For whiskey, a box equals to 9 liters of liquor. By whiskey type, sales of blended Scotch whisky -- Ballentine's, Johnnie Walker, Royal Salute -- saw the biggest drop. Since 2007, the sales volume has decreased by more than 60 p

Industry June 22, 2018

For Major Cohen, coffee changed his life as he approached mid-age.“I began working as a part-time barista in 1995, for a team that was opening a new store in Boston. It was when I was 45 years old,” Cohen told The Korea Herald at a Starbucks Korea’s The Jongno branch in downtown Seoul. At 1,097 square-meters, it is the biggest Starbucks store in Korea and was designed to do much more than simply serve coffee.  Starbucks’ global ambassador Major Cohen speaks during an interview with The Korea Her

Industry June 21, 2018

Asiana Airlines said Tuesday it has opened a fourth employment training course targeting women in Vietnam, which will take place over the next six months.  Asiana Airlines Managing Director Cho Young-suk (sixth from left) and the Embassy of Korea in Vietnam’s Consul General Lee Mi-yeon (seventh from left) pose for a photo in Hanoi, Vietnam, Wednesday. Asiana AirlinesSince 2015, the South Korean airline has been providing job training sessions for Vietnamese women in the low-income bracket. The p

Industry June 20, 2018

Proctor and Gamble Korea said Wednesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Seoul Child Hospital and Kids & Future Foundation to improve Korea’s medical services for children.  P&G Korea’s public affairs leader Park Lincoln (left), Seoul Child Hospital Director Kim Jae-bok (center) and Kids & Future Foundation Director Park Doo-joon pose for a photo after signing a memorandum Wednesday. P&G Korea“Through the memorandum, P&G will continue to put in effort to improve treatment an

Industry June 20, 2018

South Korean confectionery company Orion said Tuesday that accumulated sales of Kkobuk Chip had surpassed 50 billion won ($45 million) since its launch in March last year. Orion’s Kkobuk Chip (Orion)Approximately 46 million packs of the corn chips had been sold as of this month, according to the company. This translates to some 100 million won worth of chips sold daily. Driven by the popularity of the corn soup-flavored snack, Orion began producing Kkobuk Chip in Shanghai, China, last month unde

Industry June 19, 2018

Tobacco maker Philip Morris International said Monday that its clinical study proved that switching to its heat-not-burn cigarette device could reduce health risks compared to conventional cigarettes, reigniting controversy over the harmfulness of HNB products.  Manuel Peitsch, chief scientific officer at Philip Morris International, speaks during a press conference Monday in Seoul. PMIPMI’s study result comes two weeks after South Korean health authorities released a safety result that found HN

Industry June 18, 2018

Shin Dong-joo, a former vice chairman of Lotte Holdings who was defeated in a management right feud with currently imprisoned younger brother Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin is attempting to seize his control over the group once again.   According to Lotte Holdings, a Japanese firm which owns major stakes in many Lotte units and thus binds the whole conglomerate, it will hold a general a shareholders meeting on June 29 in Tokyo, upon Dong-joo’s request.  Former Vice Chairman of Lotte Holdings

Industry June 17, 2018

The majority of South Koreans agreed to levying various taxes on recently popular heat-not-burn e-cigarettes, a survey showed Sunday. According to a survey conducted on some 1,000 adults here by market research institute Trend Monitor, 55.6 percent of the respondents agreed to the government’s move to raise taxes on HNB cigarettes.  Various heat-not-burn e-cigarette products from Philip Morris International. (Yonhap)Last December, the National Assembly passed a bill for a tax hike on HNB cigaret

Industry June 17, 2018

Lotte Hi-Mart, the electronics chain run by retail giant Lotte Group, said Thursday that it has launched the first so-called “Hand Pay” service in the industry. A customer makes payment via Hand Pay, a biometric payment system that scans the pattern of veins in the palm, at Lotte Hi-Mart in Seoul on Thursday. Lotte Hi-MartCustomers can make payment by scanning the palm of their hands, starting with Lotte Hi-Mart’s Daechi outlet in Gangnam, the company said. The pattern of veins in the palm is sc

Industry June 14, 2018

The South Korean retail industry has bet on increased sales on Election Day, by rolling out vote-empowering marketing as well as promotional events.Department stores, one of the crowded places on the red-day Election Day, presented various benefits to lure shoppers to come after casting their ballots.Galleria Department store gave out gift certificates, free ice cream and 10 percent-off coupons for those who voted, as part of the vote day promotion event. Galleria delayed the store opening on We

Industry June 13, 2018

While Singaporean food and beverage businesses cashed in on the historical US-NK summit by releasing products from the Trump-Kim burger to “Rocket Man” taco, South Korean F&B companies were more cautious about joining the celebratory mood.“It is surely a historical moment that we all wanted to see, but I think it is still early to launch related products celebrating the historical moment of the two leaders,” an industry insider told The Korea Herald.   Trump-Kim burger (Royal Plaza on Scott Face

Industry June 12, 2018