Discount retailer Lotte Mart’s sales in China are expected to fall by 1.2 trillion won ($1 billion) this year amid the fallout from intergovernmental tensions.According to data submitted by Lotte Mart to Rep. Kim Su-min of the People’s Party, sales at the retailer’s Chinese stores fell 750 billion won on-year between January and August this year. Total on-year losses in sales for 2017 are projected to reach 1.2 trillion won.After signing a land-swap deal with the Korean government for the deploy

Industry Oct. 13, 2017

Korea Airports Corp. said Thursday that it signed an agency contract to promote sales of navigational aid systems and airport equipment in Iran.The contract with Iranian construction company Tolid Malzomat Bargh was signed Tuesday at the Inter Airport Europe trade fair in Germany.  Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin (center) waves a flag bearing the new logo for Lotte Corporation at Signiel Seoul on Thursday. (Lotte)TMB Co., which designs and manufactures electrical equipment in Iran, will promote sal

Industry Oct. 12, 2017

Retail giant Lotte Group officially established its holding company Lotte Corp. on Thursday, marking the first step toward streamlining its governance structure to increase transparency. However, the conglomerate still faces significant hurdles before the new system finds stability. Lotte Chairman Shin Dong-bin (center) waves a flag bearing the new logo for Lotte Corporation at Signiel Seoul on Thursday. (Lotte)“Lotte Corp. is the beginning of Lotte’s vision of increasing management transparency

Industry Oct. 12, 2017

Discount retailer E-mart said Wednesday that it has opened its second store in Ulaanbaatar, the capital Mongolia.E-mart entered the Mongolian market last July through a franchise agreement with Mongolian company Sky Trading. E-mart is the only large-scale discounter that offers one-stop shopping in Ulaanbaatar. Customers at the second E-mart store in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (E-mart)Since its opening last July, the first E-mart’s sales have reached 140 percent of expectations.Located on the first a

Industry Oct. 11, 2017

CJ CheilJedang is looking to take its home meal replacement business overseas, the company said Wednesday.“Ultimately, we are looking to compete overseas than domestically. To do that, we must have competitive research and development, as well as R&D for localizing our products,” Kang Sin-ho, the company‘s executive vice president of the food division, told reporters at a press conference Wednesday.The company is pursuing the growing HMR market with three main brands -- Haetban, which offers rea

Industry Oct. 11, 2017

Social media buzz related to consumer trends in Korea are shifting toward seeking value and saving rather than spending money for the present, data showed Tuesday.According to data from Daumsoft analyzing social media keywords, those connected to present-focused spending declined significantly in the second half of 2017. On social media, trends have been moving in the opposite direction from the early months’ focus on spending money on small luxuries and experiences. (123RF)As one example, the n

Industry Oct. 10, 2017

E-commerce firm Coupang said Tuesday that it had launched a new store specializing in pregnancy and baby products from over 400 brands.The store offers about 70,000 products for expectant and new mothers. It will also have overseas brands that are difficult to buy in Korea. Products offered at Coupang’s pregnancy and baby store“The store allows our customers to conveniently buy pregnancy and baby products from various brands at low prices,” said an official with Coupang. “We hope that the store

Industry Oct. 10, 2017

The record for the largest number of travelers leaving Korea through the country’s main gateway airport was broken twice on the first two days of the extended Chuseok holiday, according to Incheon Airport Monday. The departure hall at Incheon International Airport is packed on Friday. (Yonhap)On Saturday, a total of 114,746 people left Korea through Incheon Airport, setting a new daily record. That record was broken again on Sunday with 116,112 passengers leaving the country.The figures exceed I

Industry Oct. 2, 2017

The death rate among Koreans caused by traffic accidents is relatively high compared to other developed countries, while the death rate from cancer is relatively low, data showed Monday. According to data from Statistics Korea, Korea saw about 10 deaths per 100,000 from traffic accidents in 2016 when calculated by statistical standards used by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (123rf)By the latest available data, the only OECD countries that have higher death rates from

Social Affairs Oct. 2, 2017

Retail giant Lotte officially launched its new holding company Sunday, changing its governance system to strengthen Chairman Shin Dong-bin‘s control of the group and simplify its web of complex cross-holdings. The plan to create Lotte Corporation, the holding company, was announced in April by the group and approved by shareholders in late August. Touted as a part of Chairman Shin’s moves to increase management transparency at the group, the holding company merged the investment entities of four

Industry Oct. 1, 2017

E-commerce platform Coupang working to ensuring that the reviews displayed are credible and honest in order to attract users that rely on customer reviews to make shopping decisions.As more online shoppers turn to customer reviews to help them make consumer choices, the need for objective reviews has become more important. Coupang’s online reviews (Coupang)Unlike many other online shopping malls that provide incentives to consumers for posting positive reviews or take measures to push negative r

Industry Sept. 29, 2017

Kellogg Korea‘s chief executive was awarded the top honors for corporate social responsibility by Fortune Korea, Kellogg said Friday. Kellogg Korea CEO Han Jong-kap (right) receives the CSR award at the 2017 Fortune Korean Leader Awards, Friday. (Kellogg)Kellogg Korea President & CEO Han Jong-kap took home the CSR award at the 2017 Fortune Korean Leader Awards. The awards are hosted by Fortune Korea and sponsored by the Industry Ministry and the Future Ministry. Han was given the award in recogn

Industry Sept. 29, 2017

Incheon International Airport Corp. CEO Chung Il-young (center left) and FedEx Express Regional Vice President for North Pacific Masamichi Ujiie (center right) pose at a signing ceremony for the development and operation of an exclusive freight terminal for FedEx at Incheon Airport, Thursday. The new FedEx terminal will span 23,425 square meters and begin operations in the first half of 2021, handling 18,000 cargo per hour. (Incheon Airport)

Industry Sept. 29, 2017

Premium skincare brand Artistry said Friday that it will be a Diamond Sponsor for the 22nd Busan International Film Festival. This is the sixth consecutive year that Artistry has sponsored the film festival. Since 2012, the brand, run by wellness company Amway, has operated brand booths at the festival and conducted promotional events for festival visitors and consumers. Amway Korea CEO Kim Jang-hwan (right), Vice President of Global Beauty Brand of Amway Kelli Templeton (center), and BIFF Chair

Industry Sept. 29, 2017

Preliminary results of a study conducted by the Food and Drug Safety Ministry released Thursday found that menstrual care products and diapers distributed in Korea are safe to use, with potentially toxic chemicals only found in trace amounts.“A toxicity study on 10 highly toxic volatile organic compounds found that these VOCs were present in low levels that did not have harmful effects on the human body,” the ministry said. (Yonhap)The study was conducted on 666 menstrual care products and 10 di

Industry Sept. 28, 2017