Market Kurly’s best price guarantee policy in direct challenge to Coupang and E-mart

Kakao, the South Korean tech giant behind popular messaging app KakaoTalk, is taking steps to acquire mobile shopping app Zigzag, according to local reports Friday. The reported deal could see Kakao buy a controlling stake in the operator of the shopping app -- estimated to be worth about $1 billion -- and create a new subsidiary for a merger. Kakao, however, has not yet confirmed the move, say...

Innisfree, a cosmetic brand under Amorepacific, has been forced to clarify its eco-friendly “paper bottle” packaging after a customer’s complaint about plastic usage and a “misleading” label went viral online. In a post on a Facebook group called “No Plastic Shopping,” a customer shared photos of what is inside the package for the brand’s face serum product after cutting the bottle in half. Desp...

French luxury fashion house Christian Dior racked up 104.7 billion won ($93.2 million) in operating profit last year despite the coronavirus pandemic, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Christian Dior Couture Korea, the operator of the brand’s South Korean unit which produces clothes, bags and makeup products, also saw its revenue rise 75.8 percent to 328.5 billion won, wh...

Starbucks Korea has vowed to stop the use of disposable cups by 2025. As part of its long-term sustainability “Better Together” project, the coffeehouse chain said Tuesday it will roll out reusable cups at all stores across the country and replace single-use cups completely in the next four years. The new eco-friendly cups will be rolled out first at a select few shops during the second half of...

Department stores enjoy sales recovery in February, while smaller stores lag behind

Reevaluated of its potential, frozen mandu grows into a W545b market

A bubbly spin on Korea’s rice wine could modernize tradition and help farmers, says CEO

CU has opened its first outlet in Malaysia as part of its overseas push, the operator of South Korea's top convenience store chain said Thursday. The 165-square-meter outlet started operations at a shopping mall in a middle-class neighborhood in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, according to BGF Retail Co. South Korean goods account for 60 percent of all products it carries. The store also...

Coway, a South Korean home appliances rental firm, has been honored at this year’s Business Integrity Society summit for its continuous commitment to a framework for environmental, social and governance, or ESG, standards as well as corporate transparency, the company said Tuesday. It was chosen as an “Excellent Anti-Corruption Company” at the BIS Summit 2021 Anti-Corruption Awards held last wee...

Major shoe brand refuses to chime in on ongoing human rights issue involving its supply chain

Founder of instant noodle giant Nongshim Group dies at age 92

Shinsegae Department Store’s fruit subscription service is enjoying a surge in popularity as the number of subscribers jumped threefold in 10 months. The service, which began at the retailer‘s Gangnam branch, will be extended to its main store in Myeongdong, the department store said. Those subscribing to the service for a monthly fee of 220,000 won ($194) can have a selection of seasonal fruit...

To differentiate and gain a competitive edge among global plant-based meat manufacturing companies such as Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, Pulmuone said it will launch new products in various categories encompassing plant-based protein and plant-based meat, along with other Korean traditional dishes. The food company will also finish the development of ingredients with textures similar to meat...

Instant noodles gets boost on the back of the pandemic and ‘Ram-don’ phenomenon