Experts say we depend more on our sense of smell during crisis

Here’s how young Koreans plan to spend their second Christmas under the pandemic

With woes deepening among small businesses owners, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups said Wednesday morning it will distribute 1 million won ($840) in cash to each of the 3.2 million small businesses subject to the government’s hours limits in February. But protestors at the event in Gwanghwamun Plaza told The Korea Herald the amount is not enough to cover damages. “I’ve lost billions of won fo...

BAT Rothmans, the Korean business arm of British American Tobacco, is ramping up its recycling campaign in Korea to encourage people not to throw away used Glo devices, the company said Wednesday. The Seoul office of the London-based tobacco company said it has installed return bins for Glo tobacco heating devices at 50 convenience stores in cities nationwide with heavy foot traffic, with more t...

Virtual humans are everywhere: They promote products on social media, appear on billboard ads and now host infomercial shows. Lotte Home Shopping said Tuesday its virtual model Lucy will make her television debut as a show host on Wednesday for a special Christmas broadcast. Lucy is scheduled to appear in a teaser clip of the program and will introduce products offered on sale. This will be the...

Experts suggest French luxury retailer may be first domino to fall

Meat replacement projected to take up 60% of global protein market by 2040

Customer demand for wine and Korean beef has shown rapid increase this year, as an alternative to dining outside, said the local discount chain E-mart on Sunday. The discount retailer tracked the changes in the type of products sold from 2019 to November this year. According to the store’s data, wine leaped from 10th place in 2019 to sixth in 2021, with sales jumping by 32 percent from 2019. M...

South Korean beauty giant Amorepacific is mulling drastically reducing the number of its Chinese stores amid faltering sales, while also ramping up efforts to expand its luxury portfolio and online sales. President Kim Seung-hwan reportedly hinted at a strategic shift in the company’s China business in a meeting with local analysts this week. As of 2019, Amorepacific operated 1,280 stores of fi...

A select number of small-sized Korean companies had the opportunity to promote their products to Chinese and Southeast Asian consumers through live commerce platforms. China’s Taobao, Southeast Asia’s largest live commerce platform WebTVAsia, and Korea’s Naver Shopping Live participated in the event. Aside from live commerce and online consultations, four selected Korean SMEs held a launching ev...

For hotel bakeries, the notion that Christmas is a time people deserve to indulge in “small luxuries” have helped boost sales. Seasonal cakes on offer are priced at between 60,000 won to 120,000 won on average, but the hefty price tag didn’t seem to faze customers. One such extravagant example is the White Tree Christmas Cake from Josun Palace Hotel. The cake’s price is a jaw dropping 250,000 wo...

Health and beauty store chain CJ Olive Young plans to go beyond brick-and-mortar retail and transform itself into an “omnichannel platform” that connects e-commerce with offline retail, ahead of its plans to go public next year. “No one inside the company defines Olive Young as a health and beauty store. We see our brand as an omnichannel platform,” Olive Young CEO Koo Chang-geun said at a press...

Business leaders in the cosmetics and beauty industry shared their thoughts on the growth potential of K-beauty on Thursday, at Trade Week 2021, a four-day global conference organized by the Seoul Business Agency to offer support for small and medium-sized enterprises in Seoul. L’Oreal’s Chief Digital Officer Lee Seon-young kicked off the seminar, explaining how digitalization is changing the co...

Amid growing backlash, the milk brand took down the video and apologized on its official website Wednesday. “We sincerely apologize to everyone who felt uncomfortable because of our YouTube advertisement. We are accepting this matter with a heavy heart and will internally review and take extra care to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future,” the statement read. Seoul Dairy Coope...

Samsonite’s Asia head says travel will be shorter, anticipates boom in antimicrobial luggage