SOUTH KOREA: HYUNDAI DUTY FREE


Hyundai Department Store Duty Free targets $700m in 2019


Hyundai Department Store Duty Free Co Ltd is targeting US$700m in sales this year at its new Seoul downtown shop, which is located in Samseong-dong in the capital’s upcoming Gangnam area. David Hayes reports.


O


pened on 1 November with around 420 brands, including around 40


imported luxury labels, Hyundai Duty Free Shop’s first two months of operations registered more than $55m in revenue. Sales at the 14,200 sq m shop


have recorded steady double-digit growth this year as more South Korean and overseas customers learn about its location in Gangnam’s COEX convention centre and entertainment district. “Our daily sales average is


KRW1.4bn ($1.23m); we have exceeded our expectation,” comments Managing Director of Hyundai Department Store Duty Free Yuk Woo Seok in an exclusive interview with TRBusiness. “We are gradually increasing our


sales performance month by month; our target this year is $700 million. Our current sales trend is heading in the right direction.” Foreign visitors, 90% of which are


Chinese tourists, account for 80% of Hyundai Duty Free’s sales, with South Korean customers accounting


MAY 2019


for the remaining share. Chinese daigou traders take a


major share of mainland visitor purchases at present, though Yuk is optimistic that FIT (free independent traveller) sales will begin to grow in the second and third quarters this year, alongside purchases from outbound South Koreans. “South Koreans can spend


up to $600 on duty free goods they bring back and up to $3,000 on gifts to take abroad, so there is a limit on expanding sales to them,” Yuk explains. “We plan to do promotions to


bring in local customers, such as a payback system and member points to earn with their Hyundai Department Store card. We will develop these more.”


A work in progress… Celebrity events also help keep Hyundai Duty Free in the public eye. “We did a two-day promotion


with celebrity K-wave star Jung Hae-In for 20 selected customers in January,” says Yuk. “That included a make-over, fan meeting and dinner.


“It was very popular – lots of Korean, Chinese and Japanese customers visited our store to volunteer for the event.” The new store is located on


floors eight, nine and 10 in Hyundai Department Store’s COEX branch. Floor eight (6,000sq m) is devoted


to luxury fashion, watches and jewellery brands; floor nine (6,000sq m) houses perfume & cosmetics, beauty appliances, eyewear and fashion accessories; and floor 10 (2,200sq m), which also includes a customer restaurant area, displays lifestyle brands including electronics, souvenirs, food, liquor & tobacco, and Korean K-fashion brands. “Our store concept is modern luxury; the store development is still


“Our daily sales average is KRW1.4bn ($1.23m); we have exceeded our expectation.”


Yuk Woo Seok, Managing Director,


Hyundai Department Store Duty Free TRBUSINESS 93


Above: A concerted effort is being made to boost the volume of major beauty brands on floor nine, which spans 6,000sq m.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150