Korea’s duty-free sales in 2023 did not continue the post-pandemic recovery path seen through 2022. Instead, they have retreated despite increased arrivals of foreign visitors to the country.
Data from the Korea Duty-Free Shop Association shows that retail profits in the sector fell 23% to 13. 8 trillion Korean won last year, or about $10. 4 billion. free stores like Lotte and Shilla.
According to the Korean Economic Daily, both are in deficit territory, as are some smaller competitors. A key missing piece of the duty-free puzzle is the big-spending Chinese traveler.
Knowledge of arrivals shows that citizens of the People’s Republic of China have avoided the country as Covid-related visa restrictions were in place until March 2023. Figures from the Korea Tourism Organization imply that around 570,000 Chinese tourists visited South Korea during the first part of the year. of 2023, a far cry from the 2. 8 million recorded in the first part of 2019. However, the third-quarter numbers reached 750,000, so the recovery may be underway.
Lotte Duty Free, which had already internationalized its operations in Singapore and Australia Covid, has now stepped up its efforts, with Vietnam and Japan in the spotlight.
Through its online direct-purchase mall—Ginza Japan Direct Purchase (formerly called LDF Buy and launched in June 2021)—the retailer is adding new brands with a focus on animation figures. Nendoroid plastic figurines, typically depicting characters from anime, manga or video games, are selling like hotcakes on Lotte’s direct platform in Japan. Newcomers range from Bearbrick, a bear-shaped collectible figure, to figurines from listed Chinese manufacturer Pop Mart.
Daehyun Ahn, head of Lotte Duty Free’s new expansion business division, commented, “We have prepared a series of products and events, adding premium figures, to capture the demand for direct grocery shopping in Japan. »
Premium spirits brands such as sake, shochu, plum wine, and awamori are also featured, adding some rare editions such as the vintage Inishie Tenon 375 Honjo sake, the 35-year-old Batsugun Barley Shochu 1984 Inishie, and the umami-flavored Inishie. Matsufuji Plum Wine. Umeshu. Other popular pieces include Senka Perfect Whip, Konjac Jelly, and Rest Time.
In total, around 730 products are now available on Lotte’s Japanese grocery shopping service in Ginza. All come directly from Lotte Duty Free’s Tokyo branch in Ginza, with an average value “30% lower than Japanese direct grocery shopping sites,” Lotte said. He says, they are not sold duty-free. The company says it will introduce other categories, adding fashion watches, in the future.
Meanwhile, in Vietnam, Lotte Duty Free Shop signed a memorandum of understanding with Korean company Mode Tour to revitalize the Vietnamese tourism market where the store operates.
Duty Free shop in Da Nang city center by Lotte Duty Free showcasing available local products.
The two corporations plan to expand touchpoints with their consumers by combining duty-free shopping and travel, at a time when more and more Koreans are visiting Vietnam.
A joint marketing effort will target the localities of Da Nang, Nha Trang, Phu Quoc and Da Lat. Lotte Duty Free first entered the Vietnamese market at Da Nang Airport in 2017, followed by gateways that added Nha Trang Airport in 2018 and Hanoi Airport in 2019. .
In 2023, year-over-year sales at Lotte Duty Free’s Vietnam business increased by 351% with sales to Korean tourists reaching approximately 60% of the total.
Lee Woo-yeon, Head of Southeast Asia Business at Modetour, said: “Vietnam is the most popular destination for Koreans and we look forward to being able to offer increased facilities through this agreement with Lotte Duty Free. We will (also) be expanding our facilities at Lotte Duty Free retail outlets in Singapore and Australia.
Chloe Sorvino heads Forbes’ food and agriculture policy and writes the Fresh Take newsletter. Her ebook Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed, and the Fight for the Future of Meat is out December 6, 2022 from Simon’s Atria Books.
Follow Chloe on Twitter and Instagram.
Chloe Sorvino leads coverage of food and agriculture at Forbes, and writes the newsletter Fresh Take. Her book Raw Deal: Hidden Corruption, Corporate Greed and the Fight for the Future of Meat published on Dec. 6th, 2022 with Simon & Schuster’s Atria Books. Since joining Forbes in 2015, Chloe has reported at In-N-Out Burger’s secret test kitchen, drought-ridden farms in California’s Central Valley, burnt-out national forests logged by a timber billionaire, a 100-year slaughterhouse business in Omaha, and even a chocolate croissant factory designed like a medieval castle in Northern France.
Follow Chloé on Twitter and Instagram.
Kate is an expert in global customer service and an award-winning representative and commentator for the foreign industry. It works with some of the world’s leading brands to reinvent visitor engagement.
A highly regarded presenter and journalist in the media industry, she has created and presented documentaries and prime-time radio and television shows.
With an illustrious career as a sales advisor to some of the world’s most beloved brands, Hardcastle has created transformations that have driven profits, processes and brand longevity, as well as social responsibility. She is the founder of Buy Smarter, Buy Greener™️.
Hardcastle has developed impactful methods for clients with globally recognised brands and has won an MBE from Her Majesty The Queen for his business and entrepreneurship.
She is the creator and host for The Rock N Roll Business Podcast ™️ – interviewing the great and good from show business and taking the learning’s from success stories into engaging business lessons for today’s fast moving commercial world.
Kate is an expert in global customer service and an award-winning representative and commentator for the foreign industry. It works with some of the world’s leading brands to reinvent visitor engagement.
A highly regarded presenter and journalist in the media industry, she has created and presented documentaries and prime-time radio and television shows.
With an illustrious career as a business advisor to some of the worlds most beloved brand, Hardcastle has created transformative strategies that improved profit, process and brand longevity as well as social responsibility. She is the founder of Buy Smarter, Buy Greener ™️.
Hardcastle has developed impactful consumer strategies with household brand names across the world, and was awarded an MBE by Her Majesty, The Queen, for services to business & entrepreneurship.
She is the creator and host for The Rock N Roll Business Podcast ™️ – interviewing the great and good from show business and taking the learning’s from success stories into engaging business lessons for today’s fast moving commercial world.
Speaker, author and market researcher, Pamela N. Danziger is known around the world for her expertise with the world’s most influential consumers: affluent Americans. She founded the research firm Unity Marketing in 1992 and is a principal at the consulting firm The American Marketing Group. .
She received the Global Luxury Award for top luxury industry achievers presented at the Global Luxury Forum in 2007 and was named to Luxury Daily’s Luxury Women to Watch in 2013. She is a contributing columnist to The Robin Report and a senior contributor on Forbes.com.
A prolific editor and blogger, she is the author of 11 eBooks, including Meet the HENRYs: The Millennials that Matter Most to Luxury Brands and her upcoming eBook with her co-Ken Rohl, The Corporateneur Plan: Your Roadmap from Mid-Career Professional to Entrepreneur.
Pam holds a B.A. in English Literature from Pennsylvania State University and an M.L.S. from the University of Maryland.
Described as “groundbreaking” through Midwest Book Review, my book, “Meet the HENRYs,” describes millennials who have money. Connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Unity Marketing
Speaker, author, and market researcher, Pamela N. Danziger is known around the world for her expertise with the world’s most influential consumers: affluent Americans. She founded the studio firm Unity Marketing in 1992 and is a director of the consulting firm The American Marketing Group. .
She received the Global Luxury Award for top luxury industry achievers presented at the Global Luxury Forum in 2007 and was named to Luxury Daily’s Luxury Women to Watch in 2013. She is a contributing columnist to The Robin Report and a senior contributor on Forbes.com.
A prolific editor and blogger, she is the author of 11 eBooks, including Meet the HENRYs: The Millennials that Matter Most to Luxury Brands and her upcoming eBook with her co-Ken Rohl, The Corporatior Plan: Your Roadmap from Mid-Career Professional to Entrepreneur.
Pam holds a B. A. in English Literature from Pennsylvania State University and an M. L. S. of the University of Maryland.
My book, “Meet the HENRY,” called “groundbreaking” by Midwest Book Review, describes millennials with money. Connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Unity Marketing
Speaker, author, and market researcher Pamela N. Danziger is internationally recognized for her expertise on the world’s most influential consumers: the American Affluent. She founded research firm Unity Marketing in 1992 and is a principal in The American Marketing Group consultancy.
She received the Global Luxury Award for top luxury industry achievers presented at the Global Luxury Forum in 2007 and was named to Luxury Daily’s Luxury Women to Watch in 2013. She is a contributing columnist to The Robin Report and a senior contributor on Forbes.com.
A prolific editor and blogger, she is the author of 11 eBooks, including Meet the HENRYs: The Millennials that Matter Most to Luxury Brands and her upcoming eBook with her co-Ken Rohl, The Corporatior Plan: Your Roadmap from Mid-Career Professional to Entrepreneur.
Pam has a B. A. in English Literature from Pennsylvania State University and an M. L. S. from the University of Maryland.
Described as “groundbreaking” through Midwest Book Review, my book, “Meet the HENRYs,” describes millennials who have money. Connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Unity Marketing
Speaker, author, and market researcher, Pamela N. Danziger is known around the world for her expertise with the world’s most influential consumers: affluent Americans. She founded the studio firm Unity Marketing in 1992 and is a director of the consulting firm The American Marketing Group. .
She won the Global Luxury Award for Top Players in the Luxury Industry, presented at the Global Luxury Forum in 2007 and named Luxury Women to Watch by Luxury Daily in 2013. She is a columnist for the Robin Report and a senior contributor to Forbes. com.
A prolific editor and blogger, she is the author of 11 eBooks, including Meet the HENRYs: The Millennials that Matter Most to Luxury Brands and her upcoming eBook with her co-Ken Rohl, The Corporatior Plan: Your Roadmap from Mid-Career Professional to Entrepreneur.
Pam has a B. A. in English Literature from Pennsylvania State University and an M. L. S. from the University of Maryland.
Described as “groundbreaking” via Midwest Book Review, my book, “Meet the HENRYs,” profiles millennials who have money. Connect on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Unity Marketing
I’m a global retail and real estate expert who looks beyond the headlines to understand where retail is headed. I work as editor-in-chief of MAPIC and editor of the World Retail Congress, two of the most important annual retail events abroad. I also host, speak, and chair meetings around the world, focusing on how other people are becoming and what that means for the retail, food and beverage, and leisure industries. And it’s complicated! Forget the old mantra that online has killed stores, and instead don’t forget that retail has been a dog-eating business: star names rise and fall quickly, and only stores that settle for being replaced will survive. Don’t think it’s not important, your pension budget owns those shopping malls!
I’m a global retail and real estate specialist who looks behind the headlines to see where retail is headed. I work as editor-in-chief of MAPIC and editor of the World Retail Congress, two of the most important annual retail events abroad. I also organize, speak, and chair meetings around the world, focusing on how other people are becoming and what that means for the retail, food and beverage, and recreational industries. And it’s complicated! Forget the old mantra that e-commerce wiped out stores, and instead don’t forget that retail has been a dog-eating dog: celebrity names rise and fall quickly, and only stores that adopt replacement will survive. Important, your pension budget owns those malls!
I have 20 years experience covering the retail industry, from mega-malls to Main Street shops, and everything in between. I have reported on retail bankruptcies, including Toys R Us and A&P; retail launches and turnarounds, and the phenomenon known as Paramus, N.J., which has more retail square footage per capita than any other suburban zip code in the country. (And no shopping on Sundays!) I previously covered retail for The Record of North Jersey, NorthJersey.com., USA Today, and the USA Today Network, and also reported for The Grand Rapids Press, and the Buffalo Courier-Express. I love covering the retail industry because of how quickly the winners and losers change, and how easy it is for today’s disruptors to become tomorrow’s dinosaurs if they don’t constantly evolve.
I have 20 years of experience in the retail industry, from mega malls to Main Street stores and everything in between. I’ve reported on retailer bankruptcies, including Toys R Us and A.
I’m a global retail and real estate expert who looks beyond the headlines to understand where retail is headed. I work as editor-in-chief of MAPIC and editor of the World Retail Congress, two of the most important annual retail events abroad. I also host, speak, and chair meetings around the world, focusing on how other people are becoming and what that means for the retail, food and beverage, and leisure industries. And it’s complicated! Forget the old mantra that online has killed stores, and instead don’t forget that retail has been a dog-eating business: star names rise and fall quickly, and only stores that settle for being replaced will survive. Don’t think it’s not important, your pension budget owns those shopping malls!
I’m a global retail and real estate specialist who looks behind the headlines to see where retail is headed. I work as editor-in-chief of MAPIC and editor of the World Retail Congress, two of the most important annual retail events abroad. I also organize, speak, and chair meetings around the world, focusing on how other people are becoming and what that means for the retail, food and beverage, and recreational industries. And it’s complicated! Forget the old mantra that e-commerce wiped out stores, and instead don’t forget that retail has been a dog-eating dog: celebrity names rise and fall quickly, and only stores that adopt replacement will survive. Important, your pension budget owns those malls!
I am a Senior Retail Analyst at Morgan Stanley for 16 years, following a 20-year career at stores such as Macy’s, May Department Stores, and Allied Stores. Currently, I lead Loeb Associates Inc. , a control consulting and strategic consulting firm for leading domestic and foreign retail corporations. I have served as a director for the National Retail Federation (NRF) as well as several primary retail corporations, including The Hudson Bay Co, Gymboree Corp. In addition to publishing the prominent Loeb Retail Letter, for several decades, I have been quoted in the media about retail industry occasions and trends in primary economic and trade publications.
I am a Senior Retail Analyst at Morgan Stanley for 16 years, following a 20-year career at stores such as Macy’s, May Department Stores, and Allied Stores. Currently, I lead Loeb Associates Inc. , a control consulting and strategic consulting firm for leading domestic and foreign retail corporations. I have served as a director for the National Retail Federation (NRF) as well as several primary retail corporations, including The Hudson Bay Co, Gymboree Corp. In addition to publishing the prominent Loeb Retail Letter, for several decades, I have been quoted in the media about retail industry occasions and trends in primary economic and trade publications.