SOUTH KOREA: SHINSEGAE DUTY FREE “The passenger drop has got
bigger and bigger. We think this situation will last to the end of May.” At the time of writing, opening
times at Shinsegae’s Seoul and Busan downtown stores and Incheon Airport shops had been revised temporarily due to the reduction in customers. At Incheon Airport, Shinsegae
Duty Free closed all its T1 concourse shops from the beginning of April, explaining that they would remain closed until flight departures increased and passenger numbers recovered. In Seoul, the company had
reduced its flagship Myeongdong store and Gangnam duty free shop opening hours on 1 March to 11:00 to 18:00 daily, ‘until further notice’. Looking to the future, Shinsegae told TRBusiness that
it expects a
strong rebound in customer numbers and sales. “After the coronavirus crisis is over,
South Korea’s duty free industry will bounce back strongly as Chinese visitors come back,” comments Ho. “There is a big demand for luxury
duty free goods in China, so after the crisis there will be a strong bounce back. South Korea and China may be the first countries to stabilise after the Covid-19 crisis.” Regardless of the challenges posed
by Covid-19, Shinsegae recently made several changes to its Seoul downtown stores.
However, any future renovations and upgrades have now been put on hold. One of the latest brands to
arrive in the Shinsegae Duty Free Myeongdong flagship store is men’s fashion brand Off-White, which opened a boutique on the ninth floor in February, moving into a position previously occupied by Bally.
Bolstering beauty & fashion Following Off-White’s debut and the repositioning of numerous brands towards the end of last year, the luxury brand collection at Shinsegae Duty Free’s flagship store is almost complete. The company’s next big target is Prada, with negotiations currently underway. In addition to the big label
fashion brands, a number of new beauty labels have arrived at the Myeongdong store. These include Hermès Beauty, which arrived in March, along with Olay. The brand also arrived this year. Tamburins, launched two years ago by South Korea’s popular fashion sunglasses brand Gentle Monster, is the latest local brand to join the store’s portfolio. The mix intends to appeal to free independent travellers (FITs) and foreign visitors, which represent the majority of Shinsegae’s customer base downtown and in the airport stores. FIT customers in particular tend to buy more cosmetics from brands
Fresh new faces at Gangnam store
Shinsegae Duty Free is working on expanding the brand portfolio at its Gangnam store, which caters mostly to South Korean customers living in the capital’s fashionable Gangnam district south of the Han River. The Shinsegae Duty Free Gangnam branch added
Vely Vely to its beauty collection earlier this year, hot on the heels of Fenty Beauty from global music and fashion star Rihanna in 2019. Acme De La Vie, MLB Kids, Mandarina Duck,
Samsonite and Repetto joined the store’s fashion ranks last year too. The latest luxury brand to appear in the store
is Van Cleef & Arpels, which opened its jewellery boutique in December; Omega, Hermès Watches, APM Monaco and Montblanc arrived last year.
such as Sulwhasoo, Whoo, Estée Lauder and SKII. “Chinese customers accounted for
more than 70% of our sales in 2019; they mainly purchase cosmetics,” says Ahn Joo Yeon, PR Director at Shinsegae Duty Free. “What changed in 2019 is that they
[Chinese] increased their purchases of K-fashion brands such as MLB, Fibreno and Acme De La Vie.” Cosmetics brand Whoo was
the best performer last year, while Gentle Monster eyewear was the most popular fashion brand. Tiffany & Co. attracted the most
sales among Shinsegae’s watches and jewellery brands in 2019. «
“Chinese customers accounted for more than 70% of our sales in 2019; they mainly purchase cosmetics.”
Ahn Joo Yeon, Shinsegae Duty Free
Shinsegae DF fashion and accessories store at Incheon International Airport. MAY 2020 TRBUSINESS 69
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