As Korea anticipates ‘living with COVID,’ businesses are counting on pent-up demand

SPC Group’s bakery chain Paris Baguette will enter Indonesia, opening its first franchise store in Jakarta next month, it said Monday. According to the South Korean food and bakery maker, it has has set up a joint venture with Indonesia’s Erajaya Group for the purpose. The joint entity will operate Paris Baguette bakeries in Indonesia. Following the November opening of the first store in the ca...

Stung by its employees‘ first collective action, Starbucks Korea said Sunday that it will hire 1,600 more baristas and store staff by the end of this year and improve working conditions. The hiring plan is part of the firm’s package of measures announced in response to recent complaints from in-store staff that they were overworked and underpaid. “We plan to hire in order to secure more staff a...

Sales of air tickets to Madrid increased 625 percent on-month in September amid growing hopes for a resumption of overseas tourism, as vaccination speeds up in South Korea. According to Interpark Tour, a leading travel agency here, demand for flights to European destinations sharply increased last month, compared with a month earlier. Sales of plane tickets to Zurich soared 275 percent, while t...

Along with food companies, local coffee chains launched Halloween-themed menus for the season. Hollys Coffee, a South Korean coffee chain, introduced three limited edition menus this month, inspired by various themes of Halloween. One of them is the “Witch Chocolate Berry Hollyccino,” a dark chocolate iced beverage topped with berry sauce and decorated with a chocolate witch garnish. Starbucks ...

Franchise stores grew in numbers during the coronavirus pandemic last year though sales remained nearly unchanged, a new report from corporate tracker CEO Score showed Wednesday. The number of franchise brand stores in 2020 increased by 4,559, up 4.5 percent compared to 2019, according to the report which drew data from the Fair Trade Commission. With a total of 105,837 stores operated by top f...

JTI Korea has released a new cigarette from its global tobacco brand MEVIUS, as part of efforts to expand its product lineup and provide more options for consumers. The new MEVIUS Sky Blue Longs has the same thickness as the existing MEVIUS Sky Blue, but comes with a 15-millimeter increase in length. The new product is designed for consumers who want a longer experience with MEVIUS‘ “unique soft...

Retail giant Shinsegae Group is in breach of the constitution over its workplace policy that prohibits employees from partaking in political activities, lawmaker Song OK-joo’s office said on Tuesday. Supermarket chain Emart has a workplace policy banning staff from distributing handouts or putting up banners and posters as well as staging a protest without permission from the company, a review o...

South Korea‘s top tobacco maker KT&G plans to build a forest as part of their efforts to help tackle the global climate crisis. The opening ceremony for the project took place last Wednesday with officials from KT&G, Eastern Province Forest Service and social enterprise Tree Planet. The new project is designed to contribute to carbon neutrality with trees planted to pull in carbon dioxide and f...

Starbucks Korea has decided to postpone its annual marketing event following backlash from staff against overwork. The “e-frequency” reward program has taken place each winter. Customers who have collected enough stickers can redeem them for items such as diaries or free drinks. But this year’s event was pushed back by two weeks, essentially cutting the promotion period short. The move comes a...

Baristas and other employees of Starbucks Korea mobilized two trucks emblazoned with words of protest on Thursday, expressing their pent-up anger against the coffee chain and calling out treatment they consider inhumane. “Starbucks Partners are not expendable. Partners, who have raised their voices for the first time in 22 years, shall not be silenced,” read the message on the sides of both truc...

Authorities in Mexico ordered a recall of a Buldak, or “fire chicken,” ramen product for misleading customers with its label, despite having “no trace of chicken” in it. The Office of the Federal Prosecutor for the Consumer announced the recall decision Monday there, concerning Buldak Ramen Cheese and 11 other instant noodle products from across nine manufacturers. It targets a total of 129,937...

Convenience store chain Seven Eleven has partnered with a local mobility software startup to use drones for product delivery, the company announced Wednesday. According to Seven Eleven, it will develop systems and infrastructure for delivery drones with Pablo Air, with plans to launch a pilot run later this year. The firm will open a new location outside of the greater Seoul area, possibly in G...

South Korean total energy company GS Caltex said Tuesday it has teamed up with home furnishing retail company Ikea Korea to launch a pickup service at one of its gas stations in Seoul’s Gangnam district, with plans to expand it across the country later this year. The move will cut the delivery fees to 19,000 won. Ikea delivery fees are relatively high because of the size and weight of the furnit...

South Korean instant noodle maker Samyang Foods is opening a branch in China, on the back of the worldwide popularity of its extremely spicy Buldak Ramen. The company said Tuesday the new office will launch in Shanghai in December, following the foundation of Samyang America in August. The China branch will focus on marketing and distribution of its products on the mainland, it said. China and ...