Domestic duty-free sales surpass 1 trillion won in February

Sales increased due to resumption of short-term visa issuance between Korea and China and the easing of quarantine measures

Incheon International Airport duty-free zone
Incheon International Airport duty-free zone
Mi-Kyoung Lee 1
2023-03-28 10:27:43 capital@hankyung.com
Retail

Domestic duty-free sales in South Korea increased by 36.7% in February compared to the previous month, due to the resumption of short-term visas for Chinese tourists.

According to the Korean Duty-Free Shop Association on Monday, sales in domestic duty-free shops last month were 1,009 billion won ($777.6 million), up from 797.4 billion won ($614 million) in the previous month.

While the number of foreign visitors decreased by about 14.6% from 245,313 in January to 209,653 in February, foreign sales increased by about 50% to 894 billion won compared to the previous month's 596.4 billion won.

According to the duty-free industry, sales were relatively low in January due to restrictions on short-term visa issuance between Korea and China and lowered rebates paid to "baggage traders" or daigong, who purchase tax-free goods in Korea and sell them in China.

However, in February, with the resumption of short-term visa issuance between the two countries and the easing of quarantine measures in China, it appears that demand for cosmetics and daigong inflows increased, leading to an increase in foreign sales.

Write to Mi-Kyoung Lee at capital@hankyung.com

Hyundai Dept. Store Duty Free to launch metaverse duty-free shop

Hyundai Dept. Store Duty Free to launch metaverse duty-free shop

South Korea's Hyundai Department Store Duty Free announced on Thursday that it had signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with OlimPlanet for the metaverse platform business.The signing ceremony took place on March 9 at OlimPlanet headquarters in Parnas Tower in Seoul's Gangnam.Under the

Lotte Duty Free wins bid to operate Melborune Airport duty-free shop

Lotte Duty Free wins bid to operate Melborune Airport duty-free shop

Lotte Duty Free, an affiliate of the Lotte Group, won a bid for an Australian airport duty-free shop business, accelerating its move to bolster overseas operations to capitalize on the international reopening of borders.Lotte said on Wednesday that it will start operating Melbourne Airport dut

Korean duty-free shops hit by unfavorable exchange rate, limited inventory

Korean duty-free shops hit by unfavorable exchange rate, limited inventory

Travelers in the duty-free section of the Incheon International Airport on June 26 The duty-free industry has been hoping that the end of COVID-19-related travel restrictions would help boost its sales. Even as international travel is returning to pre-pandemic levels, however, South Korean

(* comment hide *}