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Musinsa to check authenticity of imported luxury goods

A staff member from Trade related IPR Protection Association inspects the authenticity of luxury brand Givenchy's mini bag at Musinsa's warehouse in Yeosu, Gyeonggi Province, on June 10. Courtesy of MusinsaBy Kim Jae-heunMusinsa will conduct a full-scale inspection on its imported luxury goods in collaboration with the Trade related IPR Protection Association (TIPA) so as to ensure they are dealing only with authentic products, Korea's largest online fashion company said Monday. TIPA is a local non-profit organization that has been established to protect intellectual property. It is unknown whether Musinsa has ever before checked the authenticity of foreign products it imports.Musinsa is one of Korea's largest fashion platforms.The decision came after Musinsa's counterfeiting scandal in January when it was caught selling fake apparel of the American contemporary brand Essentials. The company said it imported Essentials' items through one of the company's official retailers, but instead they received imitations.Musinsa expects TIPA to filter out counterfeit luxury products that are st

Jun 13, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Musinsa to check authenticity of imported luxury goods
Companies

McDonald's seeks to sell Korean unit amid intensifying competition

Customers order set menus at a McDonald's restaurant in Seoul on May 27, last year. Korea Times fileBy Kim Jae-heunMcDonald's is moving to sell its Korean branches as more companies enter the overly-crowded fast food market here, the company said Friday. The U.S. fast food giant first attempted to dispose of its Korean business back in 2016 but failed to do so as potential buyers opted out, due to high sales prices and other reasons.Mirae Asset Securities has been selected as a sales manager to find the new owner of McDonald's Korea, which has seen its profitability deteriorate, despite rising revenue, because of rising wages and higher raw materials costs, amid intensifying competition. “McDonald's is looking for a strategic partner in Korea to improve the company's growth. We are working with an external consulting firm to review various options. We will provide more details on the sell off at the appropriate time,” a McDonald's Korea official said. McDonald's sales in Korea have actually increased from 724.8 billion won ($570.4 million) in 2019 to 867.8 billion won in

Jun 11, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
McDonald's seeks to sell Korean unit amid intensifying competition
Companies

Korean food firms succeed in Vietnam by targeting young people

Vietnamese customers drink soju at the HiteJinro Soju Club pop-up store in Hanoi on Aug. 5, 2018. Courtesy of HiteJinroBy Kim Jae-heunKorean food firms have been riding high on the popularity of hallyu, or the Korean wave, in Vietnam, building a loyal customer base among young people there, according to company officials Friday.More than half of the Vietnamese population are under 35 and one out of four people there are under 15. Young people have a great deal of interest in hallyu, enabling Korean companies to establish a strong foothold in the rapidly growing Southeast Asian market.Even in the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, Korean foods, snack and alcoholic beverages sold well in Vietnam for their distinctive taste designed especially to suit the Vietnamese palate. Orion's Choco Pie products / Courtesy of OrionOrion, Korea's largest confectionery firm, achieved 102.5 billion won ($80.95 million) in sales in the first quarter of this year, which is up by 23.7 percent, year-on-year. Its operating profit also increased by 18.6 percent to 18.6 billion won in the same period.

Jun 10, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Korean food firms succeed in Vietnam by targeting young people
Companies

Former Deloitte exec selected as new CEO of Ediya Coffee

By Kim Jae-heunLee Seok-jangEdiya Coffee appointed former Deloitte Consulting Vice President Lee Seok-jang as the new CEO, the company said Tuesday. Lee is an expert on corporate management strategy and has consulted many times for major companies in and outside of the country. He graduated from Yonsei University and the College of Business at Ohio University in the United States.Under the co-representative system of Moon Chang-ki and Lee, Ediya Coffee plans to reorganize its structure and diversify its business strategies.“Ediya Coffee owns the largest number of franchises in the country. At the same time, it is the pride of the Korean coffee industry. I will work hard as the new CEO to make the company a cherished coffee franchise brand across the world,” Lee said.Lee also worked for Hyundai Motor for 29 years from 1988 and served as an executive of the planning and coordination team. He also built his career at Hyundai Engineering & Construction as the head of the company's strategic planning team and as the CEO of Hyundai Engineering & Steel Industries. &ldquo

Jun 9, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Former Deloitte exec selected as new CEO of Ediya Coffee
Companies

Mom's Touch to make Thailand ASEAN market hub

Mom's Touch Executive Director Lee Kyung-min, left, poses with RS Group CEO Surachai Chetchotisak after signing a master franchise contract at RS Group's headquarters in Bangkok, May 23. Courtesy of Mom's TouchBy Kim Jae-heunMom's Touch is entering the Thai market with a master franchise contract it signed with local entertainment firm RS Group, the chicken burger restaurant chain said Wednesday.Master franchise is a franchise relationship in which the franchise brand owner grants another party the right to recruit new franchisees in a specific area. RS Group established Mom's Touch Thailand to open its very first restaurant in Bangkok and plans to open five more this year.“We successfully entered the American market last year. This year, we hope to promote Korean-style chicken burgers more internationally through our business in Thailand,” Mom's Touch Executive Director Lee Kyung-min said. Mom's Touch Thailand will first attract local customers with the brand's signature Thigh Burger, which is made from chicken thigh meat. For the Thai market, Mom's Touch plans to introd

Jun 9, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Mom's Touch to make Thailand ASEAN market hub
Companies

Food delivery firms see 1 million user drop after fee hikes

A woman picks up food delivered to her home in Seoul on April 21. GettyimagesbankBy Kim Jae-heunThe number of people using the top three food delivery firms here decreased by more than 1 million in May due to delivery fee hikes after COVID-19 social distancing rules were eased, data showed Sunday. According to big data platform Mobile Index on June 3, the monthly active users (MAU) of Baedal Minjok, Yogiyo and Coupang Eats decreased by 3.4 percent from 33.21 million in April to 32.09 million in May. The big three food delivery firms' MAU stood at 35.32 million in March when the government's quarantine measures were still in place. Looking into the MAU of individual firms, Coupang Eats lost 560,000 users last month, followed by Yogigyo which lost 300,000 and Baedal Minjok 250,000.The food delivery firms said the new season has affected the declines in their MAU. “During April to May, when the spring season comes, everyone goes out to eat or do outdoor activities ― so the number of people ordering food at home decreases. This is a normal thing that we have experienced in the prev

Jun 8, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Food delivery firms see 1 million user drop after fee hikes
Companies

Luxury firms open high-end restaurants, coffee shops

The Pierre Sang at Louis Vuitton restaurant in Seoul / Courtesy of Louis Vuitton KoreaBy Kim Jae-heunGlobal luxury brands are opening high-end restaurants, coffee shops and other lifestyle-related businesses to solidify their customer bases and create new revenue streams, according to industry officials, Wednesday. Louis Vuitton and Gucci have recently opened new restaurants in Seoul where they receive customers only via advanced reservations. Louis Vuitton's very first pop-up restaurant in Korea, “Pierre Sang at Louis Vuitton,” first opened its doors to customers on April 4 and will close on June 10. The luxury firm serves Korean-style French cuisine by Korean French chef Pierre Sang Boyer, who runs five restaurants in Paris. Pierre Sang at Louis Vuitton is located on the fourth floor of Louis Vuitton's flagship boutique in Gangnam District, Seoul. Currently, Pierre Sang at Louis Vuitton is fully booked through June 10, and people are selling their reservation slots at the pop-up restaurant online on secondhand markets for 20,000 won ($15.92) to 100,000 won each. “

Jun 8, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Luxury firms open high-end restaurants, coffee shops
Companies

SPC acquires French sandwich franchise Lina's

Lina's restaurant in Malesherbes, France / Courtesy of SPC GroupBy Kim Jae-heunSPC Group has acquired French sandwich and salad restaurant franchise Lina's, the company said Tuesday. Lina's was first introduced in Korea in 2002 after SPC signed a master franchise contract with Lina's Development to run its sandwich and salad stores in the country. After 20 years of operating the franchise business here, the confectionery firm decided to acquire Lina's Development through its overseas corporation in France, “SPC Euro.”SPC plans to expand its domestic and international business for Lina's while utilizing the French franchise's techniques and experience in the food service field to create synergy with its bakery chain, Paris Baguette, in and outside of the country. Specifically, SPC Group will set Lina's Development as an international hub to analyze and develop French dishes and adopt their recipes for Paris Baguette menu items. After that, the confectionery firm will expand its Paris Baguette business not only in Europe, but also in North America and Southeast Asia.“

Jun 7, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
SPC acquires French sandwich franchise Lina's
Companies

Retailers scramble to cope with soaring inflation

A clerk displays packaged pork in a cooler at an E-mart store in Seoul on May 27. Courtesy of E-martBy Kim Jae-heunDiscount stores, supermarkets and other retailers are introducing a range of measures to cope with surging inflation as they try to offer customers fresh goods and processed products at reasonable prices, according to company officials, Monday. The officials said that price hikes are inevitable to a certain degree, due to the soaring costs of raw materials, but they can minimize the increase by boosting their inventories of daily necessities and diversifying their supply channels, among others. According to recent government data, consumer prices here jumped 5.4 percent in May from a year ago, the highest increase since September 2008.Lotte Mart established a special team which will predict price changes for individual products based on their quality and manage their sales prices. In particular, the team will control the prices of 500 grocery items that account for the top 30 percent of Lotte Mart's sales, varying from fresh foods to kitchen utensils. “It is almost

Jun 7, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Retailers scramble to cope with soaring inflation
Companies

Popeyes to return to Korea

Comedians appear in an old Popeyes television commercial in this 2000 file photo. Korea Times fileBy Kim Jae-heunAmerican fried chicken restaurant chain Popeyes is returning to the Korean market after pulling the plug on its business here in December 2020.Its operator Restaurant Brands International (RBI) confirmed Monday it has signed an exclusive master franchise contract with its new partner NLC, a subsidiary of deep-sea fishery firm Silla. It will open its first store under NLC management by the end of this year.“We are thrilled to introduce Popeyes' unique Louisiana-style chicken and various food items in Korea with NLC, a subsidiary of Silla,” Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen President David Shear said. “We are building a partnership with NLC based on strong trust and we will look forward to our future journey together.”RBI thought hard about bringing Popeyes back to Seoul because it has already failed once here. Silla is said to have convinced RBI with its distinguished strategy for Popeyes in an already saturated fast food restaurant market. NLC is confident

Jun 6, 2022By Kim Jae-heun
Popeyes to return to Korea
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