McDonald’s McWings makes a comeback

Fast-food chain McDonald’s Korea said Monday that it has relaunched its limited edition side menu McWings. McWings is a fried chicken snack that comes with a complimentary dipping sauce. First released in 2014, McWings created a fad in 2019 when it sold out earlier than expected. It has since become a favorite seasonal menu among chicken maniacs for its crispiness and salty flavor, according to the burger franchise. “McDonald’s is presenting a wide range of chicken menus, i

June 6, 2022

Mom’s Touch in search for new owner

South Korean chicken burger chain Mom’s Touch is searching for a new owner following its delisting from the nation’s second bourse Kosdaq on Tuesday. Its largest shareholder, local private equity firm Korea F&B Holdings, plans to buy shares at 62,000 won apiece for the next six months in order to protect minority shareholders. Following its delisting, industry watchers say sell-off talks are also expected to gain momentum. “Listed companies have legal obligations suc

June 3, 2022

JM Solution’s skin care products hit European market

JM Solution, the skin care brand from South Korean cosmetics company GP Club, said Thursday that it has recently started supplying products in Europe through local retailers. Its Believe in Nature face mask line is the first to hit the European market. The firm said it will continue diversifying its product lineup in phases. For the latest European push, the firm has partnered with two German retailers, Muller and dm-drogerie markt, which boast a combined 4,359 stores in 15 countries in Euro

June 2, 2022

[Photo News] World of Doughnuts

Doughnuts of various colors and ingredients are on display at a cafe and bakery fair held in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday.

May 26, 2022

Dongsuh Foods gives back to society through literary awards and more

Dongsuh Foods Corp. has sought to give back to society by holding literary contests, professional Go championships, and donating books to elementary school libraries. For the past three decades, the instant coffee giant has discovered thousands of female literary talents through its biennial contest. Some 240,000 pieces of literary work have been submitted to the Dongsuh Literary Awards, and about 6,000 writers have been awarded. Some 18,000 pieces were received for the 15th Dongsuh Literary Aw

May 26, 2022

S. Korea becomes world’s 10th largest luxury market: report

With Millennials and Generation Z -- those born from the 1980s onward -- emerging as major players in the luxury industry, South Korea ranked No. 10 in high-end fashion transactions last year, a report showed Wednesday According to Samjong KPMG, a Seoul-based consulting firm, the country’s luxury goods market size soared on-year by 29.6 percent to $5.8 billion in 2021. By 2024, it is projected to exceed $7 billion. Foreign luxury brands in major department stores in South Korea have see

May 25, 2022

Lotte Group to inject W38tr for health, mobility and more shopping malls

South Korean retail giant Lotte Group said Tuesday it is poised to inject 38 trillion won ($30 billion) over the next five years in the new growth-engine sectors -- health and wellness, mobility, and sustainability -- and core industry segments including chemical, retail and travel business. Following its recent announcement to enter the biomedical contract development and manufacturing organization business, the company will pour some 1 trillion won into building a new bio factory in the coun

May 24, 2022

Coway launches customizable bed frame

South Korean furniture and home appliance brand Coway said Friday that it has launched a new customizable bed frame product to reflect consumer trends shifting towards personalization. The product, Coway My Frame, allows consumers to customize the bed’s color, height and design. They can choose from a wide range of color and style combinations for the bed frame‘s headboard and sideboard, according to the furniture maker. Customers can alter the design later to accommodate lifestyl

May 23, 2022

3 more Paris Baguette stores open in Indonesia

SPC has opened three more Paris Baguette stores in Indonesia, the South Korean food and bakery company said Wednesday. According to SPC, two of the new stores are located at shopping malls in the country‘s capital Jakarta and the other is in South Tangerang. The latest opening of the bakery cafe came two months after the company’s fourth Paris Baquette store began operation in Bekasi in March. The first Paris Baguette in the Southeast Asian country opened in November 2021, shor

May 18, 2022

DAV International to release new collagen supplement

Local health product and cosmetics retailer DAV International said Tuesday that it has launched a collagen powder product that contains eight different vitamins and minerals. The product, All-in-one Daily Small-molecule Marine Collagen, not only supplies collagen to the skin, but contains vitamins essential to rejuvenate one‘s health. The company added more vitamin ingredients than are seen in other products, which usually have four, said a company official. The product is made up of t

May 11, 2022

Single-person households spend more on alcohol: report

South Korea’s single-person households proportionally spent more on alcohol than households with two or more people last year, a report showed Sunday. According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute’s report that analyzed the Statistics Korea’s data from 2021, single-person households spent 10.6 percent of their processed food spending on buying alcoholic beverages, whereas households with two or more people allocated 7.3 percent. The report showed that younger people living

May 8, 2022

Lotte trademarks Lotte Biologics in new bio push

South Korea’s retail giant Lotte Group has registered the trademark of “Lotte Biologics” with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, signaling the conglomerate’s official enter the bio industry. According to the KIPO, Lotte Holdings applied for Lotte Biologics’ patent last week with business areas including customized manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, drug processing and medical diagnostic devices for virus testing. “Registering the trademark of Lotte

May 5, 2022

11st CEO pledges to enhance corporate value before IPO

Aiming to become a next Coupang, e-commerce platform 11st said Wednesday that it would work on raising its corporate value before its market debut slated for next year. “Based on our premium e-commerce service and joint membership service with SK Telecom, we will expand our business, boost sales and garner traction within the market this year,” said Ha Hyung-il, CEO of 11st. Ha said the company will strengthen its cross-border online shopping segment, Amazon Global Store, which wa

May 4, 2022

[Photo News] K-Noodle expansion

Shin Dong-won, chairman of South Korea’s largest instant noodle maker Nongshim, looks around the company‘s second factory in US in this photo released Monday. According to Nongshim, the new factory located in Rancho Cucamonga, California can produce up to 350 million instant noodles per year. The Korean noodle maker said it aims to reach annual sales of $800 million (1.01 trillion won) in the US by 2025 after it garnered $395 million in sales last year.

May 2, 2022

Amorepacific Q1 profit drops on weak duty-free, overseas sales

South Korea’s cosmetics giant Amorepacific Group said Thursday its first-quarter net profit plummeted on-year by 13.4 percent to 171.2 billion won ($134.6 million), as sales dropped in duty-free business and in the Asian market due to the coronavirus pandemic. The group’s sales revenue decreased to 1.3 trillion won, down 9 percent in the cited period. Amorepacific Group’s domestic sales, accounting for approximately 60 percent of the total sales, decreased by 9.9 percent to

April 28, 2022

Ourhome sibling feud reignites over management control

A sibling feud over Ourhome, a Korean food company, has reignited as Koo Bon-sung, Ourhome’s former vice president and the eldest heir, launched a legal challenge against his sister and Vice President Koo Ji-eun. Koo Bon-sung and Koo Mi-hyeon, the eldest sister of the Koo family, released a statement Tuesday saying that they have filed a requisition to Seoul Southern District Court to convene a temporary shareholders meeting. They are seeking to pass a vote to appoint 48 new board of dir

April 27, 2022

McDonald’s Korea posts record-high W1tr sales

McDonald’s Korea logged a combined record high in sales of 1 trillion won ($801 million) from its directly managed stores and franchisees last year, the largest annual figure since its first store opened in the country in 1988, the global fast-food giant said Tuesday. The directly managed stores that take up about 70 percent of the total number of McDonald’s in the country posted 867.9 billion won in sales, up 9.7 percent on year, according to the company’s regulatory report.

April 26, 2022

3 French luxury houses log whopping W3tr sales in Korea

The combined sales of luxury houses Hermes, Louis Vuitton and Chanel in South Korea marked a record high of 3 trillion won ($2.4 billion) last year, amid the frenzy over high-end goods sparked by the coronavirus pandemic. According to Chanel Korea, the company’s sales revenue surged by 31.6 percent to 1.2 trillion won last year. Net profit skyrocketed by 67 percent to 249 billion won in the citied period. Louis Vuitton Korea’s sales rose 40 percent to 1.4 trillion won, while its n

April 21, 2022

[Newsmaker] Retailers hope for sales recovery as social distancing rules removed

With the government lifting nearly all social distancing measures, retailers in South Korea are now pinning high hopes on a business recovery after enduring two years of strict pandemic restrictions that limited operating hours, private gatherings and even food tasting at the grocery store. Supermarkets, which have been hit hard due to pandemic restrictions, are in talks with the government to return to offering in-store samples, which has been banned since last July. An Emart official and a

April 18, 2022

CJ Logistics to raise W740b fund to bolster fulfilment network

CJ Logistics, South Korea’s largest logistics firm, said Sunday that it is set to raise up to 740 billion won ($602 million) to construct major fulfillment centers in the metropolitan area, accelerating its e-commerce business. The firm will first raise 250 billion won in cash with Samsung SRA Asset Management, the real estate investment arm of Samsung Group, and plans to borrow the remaining 490 billion won from other financial companies. The fund will be operated for eight years until

April 17, 2022