The Korea Times

Musinsa's counterfeiting scandal pours cold water on online luxury market

Fake Essentials T-shirt sold on Musinsa's online shopping mall / Courtesy of KREAMBy Kim Jae-heunA counterfeiting scandal involving Korea's largest fashion platform, Musinsa, has raised concerns among online luxury goods sellers that the recent incident could pour cold water on the rapidly growing online resell market, according to retail industry officials on Wednesday.In January, Naver's online resale platform KREAM argued that Musinsa was selling fake apparel via its Essentials brand. Musinsa instantly refuted the claim by saying that it has confirmed an official authentication process with the global distributor of Essential. But its mother company, Fear of God, confirmed that Essential items sold at Musinsa are imitations. “We knew such a scandal would break out soon. In the online luxury market, counterfeiting issues are inevitable and we have been striving to fight the problem,” an online luxury fashion mall official said. Another luxury e-commerce firm also expressed concerns over customers becoming increasingly reluctant to purchase expensive brand-name products

Apr 7, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Musinsa's counterfeiting scandal pours cold water on online luxury market

Companies

Dongwon F&B launches new brand of smoked ham

Dongwon F&B's Grilly brand logo / Courtesy of Dongwon F&B By Kim Jae-heunFood manufacturer Dongwon F&B has introduced a new brand of meat products called “Grilly.” The name is a combination of the English word “Grill” and the letter “y” aiming to communicate the great flavors of its products, which are roasted in an oven and then grilled.In 2016, Dongwon F&B set up ovens and grills at its production facilities for the first time in the local food industry to manufacture ham that offers a distinctive grilled flavor. The domestic market for refrigerated meats has been stagnant for a while. But the market for flame-grilled ham has been growing more than 20 percent annually, according to Nielsen Korea. Last year, the market size surpassed 60 billion won ($49.25 million). Dongwon F&B expanded its Grilly product portfolio by offering sausages, bacon and chicken breasts.The food company aims to grow Grilly into a 50 billion won brand within this year.

Apr 6, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Companies

Food companies to hike prices amid soaring raw materials prices

Customers buy snacks displayed on shelves of a supermarket in Seoul in April, 2021. YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunFood manufacturers are expected to further increase the prices of their products amid a worsening global supply shortage of cooking oil, wheat and other raw materials due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to industry analysts, Tuesday. This will place a heavier financial burden on households here, which have been grappling with the fastest increase in food prices seen in decades.The country's largest food company, CJ CheilJedang, already hiked the price of Hetbahn or cooked white rice by 7 percent to 8 percent starting on March 31. The company blamed the price hike on soaring costs of fuel and ingredients. “There is continued pressure to increase the prices of other products besides Hetbahn. We cannot confirm what items they are and exactly when we will raise prices because there are so many variables including labor, logistics and packaging costs. We are watching the market closely, on a monthly basis,” a CJ CheilJedang official said.Short supplies of wheat a

Apr 5, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Companies

SPC competes with Coupang, Woowa Brothers in quick commerce

A delivery person for SPC Group's Happy Crew delivers food in Seoul on April 4. Courtesy of SPC GroupBy Kim Jae-heunCompetition is heating up in the rapidly growing “quick commerce” market with SPC Group launching “Happy Crew” delivery services on Monday for its popular franchise businesses such as Baskin Robbins, Shake Shack and Egg Slut. “Quick commerce” refers to delivery services that take less than an hour following order receipt.SPC provides walking delivery services now, but will gradually expand the business using bicycles and scooters for longer distances next year. For now, the food company's delivery service is only available in 15 districts in Seoul ― including Seocho, Gangnam and Gwanak ― and will not cover the rest of the city.“Our plan is to exclusively deliver our franchises' foods through Happy Crew. We are only doing so as a walking delivery service now, but once things settle down, we may limit other firms from delivering our products by using scooters or bicycles,” an SPC official said. Currently, the walking deliver

Apr 5, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

SPC competes with Coupang, Woowa Brothers in quick commerce

Tech & Science

Kakao struggles to acquire SM Entertainment amid founder's demands

SM Entertainment founder and chief producer Lee Soo-man / Courtesy of SM EntertainmentBy Kim Jae-heunKakao has been in a dilemma over its attempt to acquire SM Entertainment, as SM founder and chief producer Lee Soo-man continues to request his involvement in the management of Korea's largest talent agency, even after he sells his entire 18.27 percent stake in it, according to industry officials. Lee also reportedly wants SM to maintain a contract with his personal firm.It looked like the deal was nearly closed until last week, as Kakao Entertainment agreed to pay somewhere between 600 billion won ($492.9 million) and 1 trillion won to purchase Lee's stake. However, Lee has asked again to ensure the continuation of his current management authority at SM Entertainment. In 2021, Lee received 24 billion won in royalties from SM through the company's content-producing affiliate, Like Planning, which is wholly owned by the chief producer. The figure accounts for 35.6 percent of SM's operating profit of 67.5 billion won. The founder reportedly requested Kakao to maintain the producing cont

Apr 5, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Kakao struggles to acquire SM Entertainment amid founder's demands

Companies

Restaurants, cafes face customer complaints about plastic cup ban

Paper and plastic cups are piled on a table at a cafe in Seoul, on Jan. 6. NewsisBy Kim Jae-heunRestaurant and coffee shop owners are struggling with customer complaints over the government's ban on the use of disposal cups and dishes for sit-in customers. The ban went into effect Friday after being eased since 2020 to prevent the spread of COVID-19.The Ministry of Environment banned the use of plastic or paper cups in 2018, but allowed it again two years ago. However, with the COVID-19 situation expected to enter an endemic phase soon, the ministry decided to readopt the rule.“People got used to using plastic cups again during the last two years. I understand that many still feel uneasy about drinking beverages in a mug, which many people share at cafes and restaurants,” a coffee shop owner surnamed Jeon said. “However, there is nothing I can do about the government's policy, but people keep asking me if they can just use a plastic cup because they are going to leave in five minutes,” Jeon added.Jeon said he wishes the government takes aggressive actions with

Apr 2, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Restaurants, cafes face customer complaints about plastic cup ban

Companies

SK bioscience ready to seek M&As

SK bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong speaks during a press conference held online on Thursday. Courtesy of SK bioscienceBy Kim Jae-heunSK bioscience will spend 1.6 trillion won ($1.31 billion) to acquire competitive vaccine and bioscience companies on its home turf and abroad, as well as develop innovative medical products, it said, Thursday. The company also said it will do everything necessary to receive government authorization for domestic use of its COVID-19 vaccine, GBP510, by June.“We are in talks with multiple companies for strategic investment and research and development cooperation to secure new platforms such as mRNA,” SK bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong said. “We also expect GBP510 to get approval (from the government) within the first half of this year. Although we were late in developing a COVID-19 vaccine compared with other multinational pharmaceutical companies, it still has competency in the current situation in which we are entering the endemic phase.” SK bioscience is waiting for the results of GBP510's Phase 3 clinical trials, which are set to come

Apr 1, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Companies

Naver, Kakao compete over top spot in Japan's comics market

LINE Manga's comic series / Courtesy of NaverBy Kim Jae-heunKorea's two largest IT firms Naver and Kakao are battling for the top position in Japan's comics market, which they evaluate as a “strategic hub” in the global market, according to industry analysts Wednesday.Last year, Kakao beat Naver to take over the top spot in the Japanese manga market, which occupies a symbolic position in the global “cartoon kingdom.” The market size itself is large and the digital cartoon industry is growing more rapidly than ever there. Kakao Piccoma, a Japanese subsidiary providing a webtoon subscription service, recorded an all-time-high monthly gross merchandise value of 77.6 billion won ($641.5 million) in January ― accumulating 1.3 trillion won. Naver took quick action to acquire eBOOK Initiative Japan (EBIJ), a Japanese e-book platform owned by SoftBank. Naver said it will complete the deal within a week and make an official announcement. Naver's third-tier subsidiary LINE Digital Frontier will acquire EBIJ, which is expected to help the IT firm reclaim its leading posi

Mar 30, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Naver, Kakao compete over top spot in Japan's comics market

Companies

Daesang opens kimchi factory in Los Angeles

Daesang officials pose on the opening day of its kimchi production facility in Los Angeles in March. Courtesy of DaesangBy Kim Jae-heunDaesang has opened its first kimchi production facility in Los Angeles to meet increasing demand for the traditional Korean food in the United States, the company said, Tuesday. It also plans to ship kimchi made in the U.S. plant to Canada, Australia and European countries.“The U.S. market is important for our globalization plan for kimchi products. Our American facility will help us cope flexibly with the global logistics crisis while strengthening the reach and development of the traditional staple food tailored to local tastes. Once our facility in Los Angeles becomes stable, we will build more plants in America,” a Daesang official said. Daesang is the first among Korean food companies to produce kimchi in America, as no other local firm has a kimchi production facility there. The firm invested 20 billion won ($16.39 million) to make 2,000 tons of kimchi every year, and it expects that it will achieve annual sales of 100 billion won by

Mar 29, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Daesang opens kimchi factory in Los Angeles

Companies

HiteJinro to strengthen Terra beer marketing this year

HiteJinro's Terra beer commercial starring popular physicist Kim Sang-wook / Courtesy of HiteJinro By Kim Jae-heunLocal multinational brewer and distiller HiteJinro is set to beef up the marketing policy for its popular beer product Terra this year, targeting both the household market and entertainment venues. In February, HiteJinro introduced a bottle opener called “Spooner” specially designed for Terra beer bottles.The distiller's top engineers spent three years developing Spooner, with the goal of bringing entertainment to people at drinking parties. HiteJinro released a commercial in the form of a mockumentary video starring young physicist Kim Sang-wook, who explains how Spooner works. The company has applied for a trademark for the bottle opener.The device will be used as a promotional tool for Terra across the country. HiteJinro has also introduced Terra in two new sizes ― 400 milliliters and 463 milliliters ― that are considered ideal for home drinkers. Sin

Mar 28, 2022By Kim Jae-heun

Kim Jae-heun

Read more

Musinsa's counterfeiting scandal pours cold water on online luxury market

Dongwon F&B launches new brand of smoked ham

Food companies to hike prices amid soaring raw materials prices

SPC competes with Coupang, Woowa Brothers in quick commerce

Kakao struggles to acquire SM Entertainment amid founder's demands

Restaurants, cafes face customer complaints about plastic cup ban

SK bioscience ready to seek M&As

Naver, Kakao compete over top spot in Japan's comics market

Daesang opens kimchi factory in Los Angeles

HiteJinro to strengthen Terra beer marketing this year

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