The Shilla Duty Free, operated by Hotel Shilla, was ranked first in the duty-free division in two major customer satisfaction indices this year, according to the company Wednesday.

The duty-free operator received the highest marks among duty-free companies on the National Customer Satisfaction Index and the Korean Customer Satisfaction Index. 

The NCSI combines survey results from Korean and foreign customers at duty-free stores to compile their rankings.

The Shilla Duty Free said in a statement that a large part of its top ranking was due to its efforts to “strengthen customer services in its online store.” Noting increases in sales through its online store. The Shilla Duty Free has added services such as alerting customers through their smartphones when their purchases are ready for pickup at the airport.

The Shilla also has customer service representatives operating locally in major markets like China, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore and Japan, with a call center in Beijing.

Hotel Shilla‘s joint venture with Hyundai Development Co. HDC Shilla Duty Free is currently bracing for the bidding of new duty-free licenses next week.

Hotel Shilla is confident in its bid for one of the four new duty-free licenses to be awarded this month. In last year’s bid for new licenses, Hotel Shilla‘s joint venture with Hyundai Development Co. HDC Shilla Duty Free received the highest score of all bidding companies. Through a statement, a spokesman for HDC Shilla Duty Free said that the success at both The Shilla Duty Free and HDC Shilla Duty Free made this year’s bid highly competitive.

By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)