The Korea Times

NPS to request retail giants increase dividend

Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo speaks during a meeting of the National Pension Service's fund management committee at a hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on Dec. 27, 2019. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunLocal retailers are becoming nervous prior to their general shareholders meetings scheduled for the end of this month.The new coronavirus outbreak struck almost every business sector in the country hard and the “big three” retail giants were no exception.Lotte Shopping, E-Mart and Hyundai Department Store saw their net profits halved over the last two months; however, their biggest stakeholder ― the National Pension Service (NPS) ― is pushing them to increase dividends. Their shareholders meetings are scheduled for the fourth week of March ― Hyundai Department Store and Lotte Shopping will hold theirs on the 25th and 27th, respectively. At the end of last year, the NPS introduced its own set of guidelines, as an “active shareholder,” compiled by a fund management committee led by Health and Welfare Minister Park Neung-hoo. These changed its investment purpose from &

Mar 16, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

NPS to request retail giants increase dividend

Companies

Virus forcing customers to buy either high- or low-priced products

A young woman shops at a boutique in a luxury goods section of a department store in Seoul in this 2012 file photo. / Korea Times fileBy Kim Jae-heunThe overall economic slump and decrease in consumption here following the outbreak of the new coronavirus has masked a clear polarization as seen in a 10 percent increase in sales of luxury goods. The top three local department stores here have been the only retail businesses recording a surplus, with the Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai franchises showing a 16.7 percent, 16.4 percent and 15.3 percent rise in sales, respectively, between January and February compared to the same period last year. Encouraged by these results, one of the nation's most popular luxury brands, Louis Vuitton, decided to raise the prices of its products last Wednesday at a time when other brands can hardly think of doing so due to sharp drops in sales. In the retail market, consumer trends have changed such that people are buying either high- or low-priced products, and are shunning mid-range items.Due to the cost structure, brick-and-mortar stores cannot offer bet

Mar 12, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

Virus forcing customers to buy either high- or low-priced products

Companies

E-Mart puts up good performance thru warehouse store business

Workers prepare for the opening of E-Mart's very first warehouse store Traders in Nowon-gu, Seoul in this 2019 file photo. / YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunE-Mart, the country's largest retailer, said Thursday combined sales from January and February jumped substantially despite the outbreak of the coronavirus.The core factor was that customers flocked to the retailer's budget sub-brand store, E-Mart Traders, to buy cheap daily necessities, such as packs of instant noodles, and daily items as the virus spread across the country.The company said its warehouse store business sales rose more than 20 percent during the two-month period, while E-Mart's offline stores have been continuing their losing streak in terms of sales. Officials said customers were turning to its warehouse stores for a variety of items closely associated with preparing for and dealing with the virus, such as cleaning supplies, sanitizers and health aids. They said they are on track to stay in stock of these daily necessity items. “We are getting deliveries daily. But it's quite tough to quantify what the detailed finan

Mar 12, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

E-Mart puts up good performance thru warehouse store business

Companies

Virus hit BTS, Hyundai Card's IPO plans

By Kim Jae-heunChung Tae-young, Hyundai Card CEOCompanies that were gearing up to hold initial public offerings (IPOs) this year are reassessing their options due to the turbulent local stock market which has been affected by a nosedive in the international oil price and the prolonged novel coronavirus situation here. Hyundai Card, Big Hit Entertainment and Lotte Hotel are considering adjusting the dates of their firms' IPOs ― listings that were expected to vitalize this year's market.Hyundai Card selected NH Investment & Securities and Citigroup Global Markets as its underwriters last November and had planned to discuss the time and procedure of the IPO as soon as they finished submitting documentation to investors. However, the spread of the new coronavirus here has made the situation worse for card businesses. From February 1 to 23, the total amount of credit approved for personal credit cards plunged by 45 percent compared to the same period in the previous month. Bang Si-hyuk, Big Hit Entertainment founder and CEOIt is unlikely that Hyundai Card will go public this year beca

Mar 11, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

Companies

Korean construction firms pick up steam in Middle East

By Kim Jae-heunPark Dong-wuk, president and CEO of Hyundai Engineering & ConstructionLocal construction firms have picked up steam in the Middle Eastern market, winning extensive contracts to mark the largest procurement in five years.The contracts inked between Jan. 1 and Feb. 20, accounted for 6.9 trillion won ($5.77 billion), which is 16 times greater than the 430 billion won obtained in the same period last year. The contracts hold significance considering the total value of the projects from the region only accounted for 11 percent of all contracts last year, but it has risen to 66 percent for this year.The market stagnated in recent years due to the plunge in crude oil prices and unstable international market situations taking a toll on Korean construction companies seeking to clinch new business deals. According to the International Contractors Association of Korea (ICAK), as of February, local companies won a total of 94 overseas contracts valued at 10.54 trillion won ($8.7 billion), a 12 percent increase from the same period the previous year.This marks the highest since

Mar 11, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

Korean construction firms pick up steam in Middle East

Companies

Sulwhasoo enters Sephora in U.S.

A clerk explains a Sulwhasoo product to a customer at a Sephora store in New York. The country's largest cosmetic firm AmorePacific announced Monday its premium brand was officially put on sale at the select cosmetics shop to accelerate its advance into the American market. / Courtesy of AmorePacific

Mar 10, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

Companies

Chung siblings see reversal of business conditions amid virus outbreak

By Kim Jae-heun Chung Yong-jin, vice chairman of Shinsegae GroupChung Yong-jin and Chung Yoo-kyung are son and daughter of Shinsegae Group Chairwoman Lee Myung-hee. The two are often compared on their business performance under the same group and what seems like a perfect win for the daughter is turning out differently with the worsening situation of the new coronavirus. Up until the end of last year, it looked like the son was put on the defensive with declining performance of his offline retailer, E-Mart. Even in the first month of this year, many forecasted a dark future for Yong-jin's business that recorded another operating loss of 10 billion won in the fourth quarter of 2019.Chung Yoo-kyung, vice president of ShinsegaeThe downtrend came as a result of the fast-growing e-commerce market led by Coupang and eBay Korea plus the government's stringent regulations on offline markets. Conversely, Yoo-kyung was put in the spotlight for the highest turnover of her luxury fashion business. Her department store and duty free business takeovers hit a boom in sectors that cannot easily

Mar 10, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

Chung siblings see reversal of business conditions amid virus outbreak

Companies

Store closure may cost $1.6 mil. for Starbucks Korea

Starbuck store in Palgongsan, Daegu, is seen empty in this photo. / Courtesy of Starbucks KoreaBy Kim Jae-heunStarbucks Korea may face a 1.91 billion won ($1.59 million) loss after temporarily closing over half of its coffee chains in Daegu Metropolitan City and North Gyeongsang Province, where 90 percent of cases of the new coronavirus in Korea have been confirmed.The American coffee franchise did not provide an estimate of expected losses, but it can be roughly calculated by dividing last year's revenue of 1.8 trillion won by 1,387 stores it operated throughout the 12 months period.Starbucks Korea said it can extend the temporarily closing period in two regions if the virus situation continues to get worse but it will not shut the stores permanently.The American coffee franchise said Monday it will temporarily close down 39 out of 74 stores in the two regions for 13 days until March 22. Among them, nine stores have already been shut down since late February and the Korean branch office has decided to extend the closing period. The remaining 35 outlets are mostly drive thru stores a

Mar 9, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

Store closure may cost $1.6 mil. for Starbucks Korea

Companies

'Coupang to acquire eBay Korea for Nasdaq listing'

Coupang's warehouse in Incheon is seen in this 2019 file photo. / Courtesy of CoupangBy Kim Jae-heunCoupang, the country's leading e-commerce operator, is said to have plans to acquire major stakes in eBay Korea as it is seeking to grow its entire corporate volume before a possible initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq, according to sources, Monday.A report released by Hana Daetoo Securities, a local brokerage, said Coupang's biggest stakeholder may acquire controlling stakes in eBay Korea, which was up for sale, to receive more funding from investors at the time of the South Korean e-commerce firm's IPO on the tech-heavy Nasdaq, possibly next year.“Coupang is aiming for the Nasdaq listing next year. As a necessary step in terms of expanding its market share, Coupang is expected to grow its corporate size by acquiring major stakes in eBay Korea,” Hana Daetoo Securities analyst Park Jong-dae wrote in a note to clients.Coupang, which has so far secured $3 billion in investment from SoftBank and its Vision Fund, has seen daily deliveries climb to 3 million in mid-Febru

Mar 9, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

'Coupang to acquire eBay Korea for Nasdaq listing'

Companies

Lotte boss says group plans to close 200 offline stores

By Kim Jae-heunShin Dong-bin, Lotte Group chairmanLotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin said the retail giant will invest more in expanding its hotel and chemical businesses with the money earned from the massive closure of its department and retail stores here.In an interview with Japanese economic newspaper Nikkei, Thursday, the Lotte chairman said he plans to close up to 200 “unprofitable stores” in South Korea by the end of the year as part of a large-scale effort to focus more on the hotel and chemical businesses, which he identified as the group's next major revenue drivers. Lotte Group operates 71 department stores, along with a number of super- and hyper-markets across the country.His remarks were confirmed by Lotte headquarters in Seoul. The Lotte boss said its signature Lotte Hotel will see substantial volume growth via acquisitions over the next five years. Lotte runs 12 hotels outside Korea, including three in the United States.Regarding the specifics of plans for the expansion of the firm's chemical business, Shin said that the group intended to acquire a number

Mar 8, 2020By Kim Jae-heun

Kim Jae-heun

Read more

NPS to request retail giants increase dividend

Virus forcing customers to buy either high- or low-priced products

E-Mart puts up good performance thru warehouse store business

Virus hit BTS, Hyundai Card's IPO plans

Korean construction firms pick up steam in Middle East

Sulwhasoo enters Sephora in U.S.

Chung siblings see reversal of business conditions amid virus outbreak

Store closure may cost $1.6 mil. for Starbucks Korea

'Coupang to acquire eBay Korea for Nasdaq listing'

Lotte boss says group plans to close 200 offline stores

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