Breaking the glass ceiling: Chaebol groups make breakthrough with female leaders

A wind of change may be blowing at the nation’s male-dominant corporate culture, with more women getting promoted to take top seats amid year-end reshuffles. LG Group last week tapped two female CEOs to lead its key affiliates – Lee Jung-ae for its retail arm LG Household & Health and Park Ae-ri for its advertising unit G II R. It was the first time not just for LG, South Korea’s fourth-largest conglomerate, but for one of the nation’s top five chaebol groups, to appo

Nov. 27, 2022

Victorinox partners with Off-White to roll out limited edition knife

Swiss watch-to-knife manufacturer Victorinox said Sunday it is collaborating with Italian street fashion brand Off-White to launch a limited edition multi-tool. The limited edition Swiss Army knife is a flagship product of “Equipment,” a special lineup showcased by Off-White in collaboration with South Korean men’s fashion brand Post Archive Faction. The Italian firm had welcomed Victorinox to collaborate on the knife as part of the project. The tool’s design is based on

Nov. 27, 2022

Retailers brace for gloomy 2023

Business leaders and experts gathered Tuesday at the headquarters of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss the current bearings of South Korean retail industries and plans they should undertake going forward. Woo Tae-hee, executive vice chairman of the KCCI, said that according to a survey conducted by the KCCI, "worsening consumer confidence" was chosen by some 300 retail industries in the country as the top issue to tackle for the years ahead. "Consumer confidenc

Nov. 22, 2022

When gummies, Coke and ice cream become art

To enter “Haribo World,” you'll pass through multiple gates shaped like the brand's famous gummy bears. Inside a room at the end of the passage, the signature Goldbears come alive via media art that covers the entire wall, ceiling to floor. At this exhibition, currently underway at Annyeong Insa-dong's Insa Central Museum in central Seoul, the inspiration obviously is children’s and many adults’ favorite gummy -- Haribo Goldbears. Opened in October this yea

Nov. 22, 2022

Losing on home turf: Korea’s kimchi trade deficit returns

South Korea’s imports of kimchi, a staple of almost every meal, reached an all-time high last month, with soaring ingredient costs driving up prices of domestically made kimchi amid inflation fears. In October, kimchi shipments from overseas surged by 50.9 percent compared to a year earlier to $17.02 million, according to data from the Korea Customs Service. The figure showed a 16.2 percent increase from the previous month. It is the first time monthly imports surpassed the $17 million m

Nov. 16, 2022

Medicube operator eyes IPO on upbeat sales

APR, operator of Korean street fashion brand Nerdy and dermocosmetics brand Medicube, said Tuesday it posted record-high sales in the third quarter this year. The company’s sales surged on-year by 306 percent to 95 billion won ($72 million) while its net income jumped 81 percent to 12 billion won from July to September. Accumulated sales and income through the third quarter were 269 billion won and 18 billion won, respectively, surpassing last year’s performance. The company attrib

Nov. 15, 2022

Milk inflation accelerates

With the upcoming milk price hike slated for this week, South Korean consumers are likely to see a series of price increase in bread, butter and dairy products -- everyday low-cost items -- worsening the already soaring inflation. Seoul Dairy Cooperative, the largest supplier of milk and dairy products here, recently announced it will increase the price of milk and dairy products around 6 percent starting Thursday. A 1-liter carton of the company’s milk will be at least 2,800 won ($2.10) i

Nov. 13, 2022

Dairy company Purmil reverses course on business termination

South Korean dairy company Purmil's announcement of its business termination, which stirred nationwide controversy for unilaterally firing its employees, had been upended as of Thursday. According to a statement from Purmil, the company will be normalizing its business operations but will still downsize 30 percent of its workforce to increase management efficiency. The announcement was made after an agreement was reached between management and labor, it added. The company intends to continu

Nov. 10, 2022

Coupang turns profitable 8 years after launch of Rocket Delivery

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang Inc. turned a profit in the third quarter this year – a first after years of losing money since the launch of its ultrafast Rocket Delivery service in 2014. The company logged $90.7 million in net income during the July-September period in a dramatic turnaround from last year’s net loss of $324 million, Coupang founder and CEO Kim Bom said in a conference call early Thursday. Its revenue increased 10 percent to $5.1 billion during the same period

Nov. 10, 2022

Homeplus to expand home meal replacement products

South Korean discount chain Homeplus said Thursday it will combine its home meal replacement and meal kit product lines for the launch of a new brand called “Homeplus Signature Home Meal” to satisfy consumers’ demand for easy-to-prepare, nutritious meals. The new brand will offer high-quality products at reasonable prices, according to the retailer. The product lineup offers hansik, or Korean food, meal kits for at-home diners, as well as meals suitable for camping and as drink

Nov. 10, 2022

KT&G debuts all-new heated cigarettes geared with AI

South Korean tobacco company KT&G unveiled its series of new heat-not-burn tobacco devices equipped with artificial intelligence on Wednesday, with aims to maintain its leading position in the growing domestic electronic cigarette market. The new HNB cigarettes, or electronic devices which heat processed tobacco instead of combusting it to deliver aerosol with fewer toxicants, come in two models each named Lil Aible and Lil Aible Premium. Lil Aible comes in four colors 'Ultra Blue

Nov. 9, 2022

Popeyes to come back after 2-year hiatus

Popeyes, a US fried chicken fast food chain, said Wednesday it is returning to the South Korean market in the coming weeks after a nearly two-year hiatus. The chain had ceased operations here in December 2020, citing business difficulties and poor sales as key reasons. Popeyes is set to open its first new location near Gangnam Station in southern Seoul, with employee training starting on Monday. Meanwhile, South Korea's fast food market is experiencing a heated "burger race," as c

Nov. 9, 2022

KT&G to buy back shares worth W350b to boost shareholder returns

South Korean tobacco company KT&G said Friday it plans to buy back 350 billion won ($245.1 million) of its own shares in a bid to boost shareholder returns. The firm is also considering increasing dividends per share by more than 200 won compared to last year. It is the second share buyback since last year when the company bought back 350 billion won of its shares and paid dividends of some 576 billion won to shareholders. In November 2021, the company announced it would carry out a shareh

Nov. 4, 2022

Lotte to inject W1tr to expand online grocery business

Lotte Shopping, the e-commerce arm under retail giant Lotte, said Wednesday it plans to inject some 1 trillion won ($705 million) to boost its online grocery business. In partnership with Ocado, UK’s retail solutions provider, the company will adopt the Ocado Smart Platform, which uses artificial intelligence, big data and machine learning technologies to offer fast delivery service of fresh groceries. The platform operates automated fulfillment centers where hundreds of robots sort and pi

Nov. 2, 2022

Chanel raises prices in Korea to 'ensure fairness'

Chanel raised the prices of its handbag, jewelry and clothing products in Korea by 5 to 12 percent on Wednesday, citing global price equity as the primary reason. This is the company’s fourth price hike this year. As per the price increase, the price of Chanel’s Mini Flap Bag rose by 7 percent, from 5.94 million won to 6.37 million won ($4,190 to $4,490), while the price of Chanel’s Classic Large Flap Bag rose by 6 percent, from 13.35 million won to 14.2 million won. Chanel&rsq

Nov. 2, 2022

Luxury resort brand Capella to land in S. Korea

Global resort brand Capella announced its South Korean debut in Yangyang, Gangwon Province, some 107 kilometers from Seoul. Under the 830 billion won ($584 million) project, the luxury beach resort will be constructed near Songjeon beach by the second half of 2025. The company said Capella Yangyang aims to become the largest wellness resort here with a total of 261 rooms. There will be restaurants, convention halls and a total of five swimming pools, a mixture of indoor and outdoor. The resort

Oct. 31, 2022

Retailers cancel Halloween-themed events

Retailers called off a series of Halloween-themed marketing events following an overnight crowd surge that killed at least 153 people, among some 100,000 who turned up for Halloween festivities in Itaewon, a popular nightlife district in central Seoul, late Saturday. Many retail companies here had planned to use Halloween to promote their products catering to young consumers, but events have quickly been canceled following the government’s announcement of a national mourning period throu

Oct. 30, 2022

Coupang launches cross-border e-commerce service in Taiwan

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang said Wednesday it has launched a cross-border online shopping service in the burgeoning Taiwanese market, saying it would help small and medium-sized Korean companies expand their businesses overseas. Through the Taiwanese version of Coupang's mobile app, consumers in Taiwan can use the company’s ultrafast Rocket Delivery service. Customers can order millions of groceries, daily necessities and other products from South Korea, and receive them i

Oct. 26, 2022

Philip Morris Korea launches new heated tobacco device that needs no cleaning

Philip Morris Korea on Tuesday launched Iqos Iluma, its new flagship heated tobacco product that requires no cleaning process, saying it hopes to enhance customer experience. “Our new heat-not-burn cigarette uses smart core induction technology that doesn’t require heating blades like previous models. Since the tobacco sticks are not inserted into the blades, you don’t have to clean the ashes caught in the blades and there is no risk of damaging them,” said Baek Young-jae

Oct. 25, 2022

[Herald Interview] High-end Champagne RSRV lands in Korea

Global wine and spirits company Pernod Ricard’s luxury wine collection Maison Mumm RSRV made its South Korean debut recently to cater to an ever-evolving, pandemic-fueled drinking culture here: drinking less, but better. “During at-home drinking occasions with a small group of people, you don’t have the social pressure of picking alcohol that is suitable for the moment. It was very interesting to see how people switch from drinking soju and beer -- the rule you must follow when

Oct. 21, 2022