High-end fashion brands and home shopping channels are forming unlikely alliances as sales through more traditional routes continue to falter. While department stores have traditionally been the main outlet for high-end fashion brands, such retailers have seen their sales fall for five consecutive months, even as home shopping firms have shown the opposite trend. This, coupled with the operators’ desire to expand their customer base, is bringing high-end fashion brands together with home shoppin

Industry March 1, 2015

Lotte Group hopes to acquire Italian airport retailer World Duty Free to grow into the world’s No. 2 duty-free shop operator, group officials said Wednesday. According to news reports, the nation’s fifth-largest conglomerate by assets submitted a proposal to acquire a controlling stake in WDF. Lotte Shopping, which operates Lotte Duty Free, has made the offer estimated at 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion) to 4 trillion won, the reports said.  “We are interested in WDF. But it is difficult to confirm

Industry Feb. 25, 2015

Homeplus, the nation’s second-largest supermarket chain, is in talks with furniture maker Hanssem to set up shop-in-shop at its outlets, the retailer said on Monday.If the deal is finalized, Hanssem will be the first shop-in-shop at Homeplus to sell home furnishing products such as household linen, lights and sofa. Hanssem’s flagship store in western Seoul. (Hanssem)“We are discussing a potential tie-up but it’s just one of the many discussions we’re having with other companies, and nothing has

Industry Feb. 23, 2015

South Korean budget makeup brands The Face Shop and Innisfree are establishing a solid foothold in the low-cost cosmetics market, shrugging off competition from the once-dominant Missha.The Face Shop, acquired by LG Household and Healthcare in 2009, held on to the top spot by posting 610.1 billion won ($554.4 million) in sales and 69 billion won in operating profit last year. Cosmetics giant AmorePacific’s Innisfree followed next, recording 456.7 billion won in sales and 76.5 billion won in oper

Industry Feb. 17, 2015

South Korean cosmetics giant AmorePacific is banking on its fragrance business as a way to secure a solid foothold in the U.S. beauty market.AmorePacific said Monday that its fragrance brand Annick Goutal will open a second store, a 65-square-meter unit at 955 Madison Avenue in New York, this month. The opening follows the flagship outlet on Bleecker Street in New York that opened last summer.Annick Goutal, originally a French perfume house, was acquired by AmorePacific in 2011. The brand sells

Industry Feb. 16, 2015

Lotte Group, the country’s fifth-largest conglomerate, announced Sunday that it would invest a record 7.5 trillion won ($6.8 billion) in the retail, tourism and construction sectors.The investment plan expanded about 31.5 percent from 5.7 trillion won last year.“Despite the worsening business environment, we shouldn’t hold back on investments (to seek growth),” Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin was reported as saying in a recent executives’ meeting. “We have to build momentum for growth, while

Industry Feb. 15, 2015

Major South Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, plan to invest a total of 34.4 trillion won ($31.5 billion) in their facilities this year, government officials said Wednesday.In a meeting with top executives of 16 key conglomerates, Industry Minister Yoon Sang-jick said the government would provide full support for their investment and help push M&A deals.The meeting was attended by representatives from Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Hyundai Motor, Hyund

Industry Feb. 11, 2015

Korea DMC, the operator of a Chinese-language Korean Wave portal, said Tuesday that it aimed to reach 1 million hits in daily traffic by the end of the year.The company launched Korea Top 10 (www.koreatop10.com), a platform offering information related to South Korea and shopping for beauty products and tourist, wedding and medical services.“We provide customized services to Chinese people who are seeking information and products they cannot find elsewhere,” Korea DMC CEO Sim Song-hak said at a

Industry Feb. 10, 2015

Hotel Shilla plans to build a hotel in Xian ― a cultural, industrial and educational center in northwest China ― in its latest move to expand its business in the country, the company said.It is planning to sign a consignment management agreement with a local company to run a hotel business, it said on Monday. The Samsung Group affiliate is currently operating a hotel under its brand in Suzhou, eastern China. Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin. (Yonhap)“We do not know whether it’s going to be a busines

Industry Feb. 9, 2015

Doosan Infracore, the second-largest affiliate of Doosan Group, has begun a restructuring program to improve its financial health, the group confirmed on Friday. Doosan Infracore construction vehicles. (Doosan Infracore)The country’s 12th-largest conglomerate by assets said Doosan Infracore would cut about 100 jobs through an early-retirement program. The early-retirement offer was given to all 3,200 Doosan Infracore employees, including research and development staff.The downsizing at the const

Industry Feb. 6, 2015