Seoul’s newest and biggest department store, the Hyundai Seoul, is enjoying immense popularity, in what industry insiders hope to be a sign of a revival of consumer sentiment amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. According to industry analysts on Tuesday, the shopping mall in the office district of Yeouido, central Seoul, is estimated to have recorded sales of 37.2 billion won ($32.6 million) in the first week of business, since pre-opening on Feb. 24. Some 1.5 million people is estim

Yanolja, the largest accommodation and leisure activity booking platform operator in South Korea, said Monday it would give out 10 million-won ($8,900) worth of stocks in their company to each of its 1,000 staff. The decision will see the stocks given to the company’s current employees and new staff, after CEO and co-founder Lee Su-jin and head of C&D Lim Sang-kyu donated a total of 600,000 stocks. Though the company has previously given stocks to some of its staff through its loya

Philip Morris Korea’s manufacturing director talks being a woman in the tobacco industry in celebration of International Women’s Day

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Online shopping in South Korea grew more than 20 percent in January from a year earlier as the protracted pandemic promoted more people to buy products via e-commerce platforms, data showed Friday. The value of online transactions stood at 15.1 trillion won ($13.3 billion) in January, up 22.4 percent from a year earlier, according to the data from Statistics Korea. The value of online shopping in January slightly declined from a record high of 15.9 trillion won in December last year but still

Sale likely to shake up local e-commerce landscape

Lotte Confectionery is launching a spicy cheese tteokbokki-flavored ice cream, the company said Tuesday. The new flavor is being introduced as a limited edition of Lotte’s Chal Tteok ice cream line. A total of 500,000 will be sold in retail channels including supermarkets and ice cream discount stores. To make the tteokbokki flavor, the company said it mixed Jalapeno into the orange-colored rice cake, which wraps around the cheddar cheese-flavored ice cream with spicy chips and cookie

The number of shoppers at duty free stores stood at 343,983 in January, the lowest since the coronavirus crisis began to affect the South Korean economy last March, according to the Korea Duty Free Shops Association. Some 280,000 South Korean nationals and 59,600 foreign nationals spent a 1.38 trillion won, the latest data from the association showed. The figure is down nearly 80,000 compared to December last year. Sales, however, are up 16.7 percent compared to the previous month. Compared t

Homeplus will sell cars and install electric vehicle charging stations, as part of its efforts to provide more reasons for customers to visit its physical stores other than grocery shopping, the hypermarket chain said Monday. Homeplus’ plans for the new mobility service platform cover a wide range of services, and it is currently taking preorders for two electric motorcycles from DNA Motors -- EM-1 and Zappy 1 -- and preparing to launch a rental service, the company said. “By of

Philip Morris Korea has won a legal battle worth billions of won against the country’s tax authority over trademark usage fees, according to legal sources. The Seoul Administrative Court on Monday ruled in favor of the South Korean unit of the international tobacco company, ordering a tax imposed by Seoul Main Customs worth 9.82 billion won ($8.7 million) to be canceled. The ruling comes four years after the Korea Customs Service ordered the company to pay some 3.4 billion won in customs

Asian model’s skin darkened to make clothes ‘look even better’

Pernod Ricard Korea has chosen the second recipient of the Aberlour Craftsmanship Award, an award named after the single malt Scotch whisky distillery of the same name, to recognize socially responsible talents, the company said Friday. Mun Seung-ji, a furniture designer and the founder of Team Virals, has been given the prize for creating zero waste eco-friendly furniture. “Through the Aberlour Craftsmanship Award, we seek to create a positive impact on consumers by recognizing those wi

The Hyundai Seoul opens in Yeouido, highlights retail therapy as future of department stores

Oriental Brewery unveiled its new beer “Hanmac” late last month, boasting it as “Korea’s representative lager project.” As the label suggests, the company, famous for its pale lager Cass, set the bar high for itself. ”Some lagers are more than just beers and represent their regions as they do in Germany, Belgium, and the Czech Republic. We hope that ‘Hanmac’ will captivate consumers with its refreshing flavor of Korean rice and become a true &ls