Market jitters dampen appetite for e-commerce IPOs

After the blockbuster stock debut of Coupang last year, expectations had been growing for upcoming listings of the nation’s popular e-commerce platforms like SSG.com and Market Kurly until early this year. But uncertainties surrounding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its economic impact are prompting the firms to put their plans to go public on ice. SSG.com, the digital shopping platform owned by retail giant Shinsegae Group, is one of the hottest market debuts planned this year

March 20, 2022

GS Retail latest to adopt chicken-frying robots

GS Retail, the operator of Korea’s convenience store chain GS25, said Wednesday it will deploy chicken-frying robots, joining the recent race to automate food manufacturing. The company forged a partnership with Roboarte, the food tech startup behind Robert Chicken that uses robot arms to fry chicken. GS25 plans to use the startup’s robots to fry frozen chicken from its own brand Chicken 25. “The robot arms will automatically put the bucket full of frozen chicken in a frying

Feb. 23, 2022

British fashion brand unveils bags inspired by South Korean anime series ‘Run Hany’

British fashion label JW Anderson has unveiled new bags inspired by South Korean anime series “Run Hany.” The accessories, which appear to be a collaboration project as part of the brand’s new season collection, come in at least three colors -- blue, orange and white -- according to a recent post on Instagram. In another photo, one bag has a picture of the face of the series’ main character Hany, along with the JW logo in orange. “Not long till the show,” t

Feb. 21, 2022

South Korean medalists to get chicken ‘pension’

South Korean medalists have shown excitement at not only winning medals, but also free chicken for the rest of their lives. The so-called “chicken pension” is backed by Yoon Hong-geun, CEO of Korea’s fried chicken franchise Genesis BBQ, and also the chief of South Korea’s athletic mission at the Beijing Olympic Games. Yoon promised to give free chicken for the country’s short track speedskating medalists Hwang Dae-heon and Choi Min-jeong at their requests. &ldquo

Feb. 21, 2022

[Newsmaker] aT CEO at vanguard of global green food campaign

Going green is not just about having more electric vehicles or shutting down old factories powered by fossil fuels, says the head of South Korea’s food distribution and export promotion agency, but also extending that eco-friendly thinking to the table. Not just reducing food waste but also choosing to eat more local production would make a greater impact on the Earth, said Kim Choon-jin, president of Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corp. Kim and his agency have been taking an ini

Feb. 20, 2022

Shinsegae acquires Napa Valley winery for W299.6b

Shinsegae Property, the property development arm of Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae, said Wednesday it has acquired US winery Shafer Vineyards for 299.6 billion won ($250.3 million) to boost the group’s wine business. “With the acquisition, we plan to further expand the group’s wine business by creating synergy with its Shinsegae L&B that is in charge of the wholesale distribution of wine and liquor,” a Shinsegae Property official said. Industry sources say si

Feb. 16, 2022

Pandemic raises importance of restaurant hygiene, survey finds

Cleanliness has risen as a key factor in choosing where to eat out since the pandemic started, a survey showed Sunday. According to data from Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corp, 92.1 percent of 1,341 respondents aged between 20 and 69 said they thought restaurants cleanliness was important when choosing where to eat, compared to just 22.7 percent in 2019. The figure was the second most-important factor, behind taste and food quality on 94.3 percent. In 2019, cleanliness ranked fourth, wh

Feb. 13, 2022

Korean retailers expand delivery service with robots, drones

Retail companies in South Korea are taking the plunge into last-mile mobility technology by launching service robots and drones to provide contactless services sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. To meet the high demand for delivery and dining services, Mesh Korea, the operator of tech-based logistics startup Vroong, said Wednesday it has partnered up with Bear Robotics Korea, the Korean branch of a US-based robot manufacturing company, to introduce unmanned automated transport service to the

Feb. 9, 2022

Chanel joins Louis Vuitton in leaving duty free shops in Korea

French luxury brand Chanel has decided to pull out of duty free shops in Busan and Jeju in late March, signaling another blow to local duty free retailers who have also lost Louis Vuitton and Rolex. Chanel has informed the retailers that they will close boutiques at the Lotte duty free store in Busan and the Shilla duty free store in Jeju, the only downtown duty free shops outside Seoul that had Chanel. Louis Vuitton stopped running its store at the Lotte duty free shop in Jeju from Jan. 1, a

Feb. 8, 2022

Coffee drinkers get less buzz for their buck as chains up prices

From Seoul to Seattle, the soaring cost of coffee beans is trickling into the cups of consumers. Some of the world’s biggest roasters and sellers of coffee are upping menu prices, having flagged that customers would be paying more as beans began to surge last year. Higher wages and other costs have also added to the rising charge for a daily cup, which is in turn increasing the inflationary pressures coursing through the global economy. Futures for arabica coffee jumped 76% in 2021, hitt

Feb. 3, 2022

2 in 3 young Koreans positive about meat alternatives: survey

More than two out of three Koreans in their 20s and 30s feel positive about plant-based meat alternatives and believe that they are better for the environment than animal meat, a survey showed Thursday. According to a survey conducted by Shinsaege Food, 67.6 percent of 1,000 respondents aged between 20 and 39 said they feel good about consuming meat replacements. Some 71 percent said meat alternatives are necessary because they take up less land and water, and produce less greenhouse gas than

Feb. 3, 2022

Convenience stores outrank supermarkets in market share

Korea’s convenience stores’ combined market share outgrew that of local supermarkets for the first time, amid the fast-growing trend to shop in less crowded places due to the coronavirus pandemic, data showed Wednesday. According to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, sales revenue of three convenience stores -- GS25, CU and 7-Eleven -- came to 30.7 percent last year, following three department stores -- Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai. The figure surpassed that of t

Feb. 2, 2022

Korean instant noodle exports hit new high in 2021

Exports of South Korean instant noodles hit a record high of over $670 million, the highest figure to date. Last year’s exports stood at $674.41 million, data from the Korea Customs Service and the food industry showed on Sunday. Exports of instant noodles, also known as “ramyeon” in Korea, have risen for seven consecutive years. When broken down by country, China was the biggest market for South Korean instant noodle makers, followed by the US, Japan and Taiwan. Instant no

Jan. 30, 2022

Retail sales rise over 11% in 2021 amid pandemic

Retail sales in South Korea rose 11.3 percent on-year in 2021 on the back of strong appetite for consumption and growing online transactions amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the industry ministry said Thursday. The combined sales of local offline retailers climbed 7.5 percent on-year from the previous year, and those of online stores grew 15.7 percent, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Department stores showed stellar performance, with their sal

Jan. 27, 2022

Anchor Equity-backed Fresheasy acquires smaller rival for W100b

Korea’s largest meal kit provider Fresheasy said Wednesday it acquired its smaller rival Tasty9, the No. 2 player, for 100 billion won ($83.5 million) in a move to further strengthen its leadership in the burgeoning ready meal market here. The latest deal is the fourth in a series of acquisitions it has carried out under new ownership. In October last year, Hong Kong-based Anchor Equity Partners acquired a controlling stake in Fresheasy for an estimated 300 billion won. Over the three

Jan. 26, 2022

Korean retailers jump into NFT craze

Nonfungible tokens, once monopolized by cryptocurrency exchanges and auction houses, are creeping into the retail industry, where top players are desperate to seek a new growth engine in a quickly saturating market. NFTs are digital tokens of physical or digital assets, mostly of music or art, that guarantee ownership through blockchain technology. Korean retail channels are also set to expand their footing into the burgeoning NFT business by selling art and fashion items. CJ Olive Networks

Jan. 25, 2022

Korea’s beer imports drop to all-time low

South Korea’s imports of beer recorded an all-time low last year, amid a nationwide boycott of Japanese beer and other products, data showed Monday. According to the Korea Customs Service, imports of beer decreased by 1.7 percent on-year to $223.1 million last year. The figure surpassed the record-low imports of $181.5 million in 2016. The list of major beer import countries last year includes the Netherlands, followed by China, Belgium, Poland, Ireland, Germany and the Czech Republic.

Jan. 24, 2022

7-Eleven to provide AI data for potential franchise owners

The convenience store chain 7-Eleven of Korea’s retail giant Lotte Group said Friday it joined hands with Oasis Business, startup solution platform, to develop an Artificial Intelligence solution to support those who wish to start the franchise business. Based on the partnership, the store chain plans to provide more objective data of the commercial area around the new franchise and accurate sales projections. The AI-analyzed data includes the number of the floating population, sales fig

Jan. 21, 2022

[Herald Interview] Pernod Ricard Korea looks to infuse Korean culture into drinking

As the COVID-19 pandemic forced pubs and bars to close early and limited private gatherings, more people have been drinking at home. Frantz Hotton, CEO of global wine and spirits company Pernod Ricard Group’s Korean affiliate, saw a silver lining in the virus-driven trend. “Our sales and marketing teams have made great efforts to respond well to the growing needs of off-trade market and caught up rapidly to grab opportunities in line with new drinking patterns,” Hotton said i

Jan. 20, 2022

Lotte Group steps closer to Ministop Korea acquisition

Korea’s retail giant Lotte Group is highly likely to be picked as a preferred bidder to acquire the nation’s fifth-largest convenience store chain Ministop Korea, according to industry sources Wednesday. Lotte reportedly offered the highest bidding price -- 300 billion won ($251.5 million) -- possibly leaving out its crosstown rival Shinsegae Group in the heated race. “Since Lotte has outbid other contenders, there’s a 99.9 percent chance of Lotte becoming the prefer

Jan. 19, 2022