The Korea Times

Shinsegae, Lotte use low-priced wine to lure shoppers back to stores

A customer looks at wines sold at E-mart in Seoul in this 2018 file photo. Courtesy of E-martBy Kim Jae-heunThe country's top two discount store chains, E-mart and Lotte Mart, are expanding sales campaigns for low-priced wines aiming to get people to buy goods in offline stores as online shopping surges in popularity during the pandemic.Under Korea's commerce law, wine can only be sold offline. That means the more customers visit discount stores to buy wine, the higher the chances that they will purchase other daily goods at the same time.“The two companies chose wine as 'bait' to bring back customers, as alcoholic beverages cannot be sold online,” an industry source explained.The source said the fact that both brands offer quality wines at reasonable prices is helping them retain their statuses as major market players, despite the rise of e-commerce firms.E-mart and Lotte Mart have established themselves as local channels for purchasing imported wines. Chung Yong-jin, the vice chairman of Shinsegae, which operates E-mart, came up with an ultra-low pricing strategy with t

Dec 23, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Shinsegae, Lotte use low-priced wine to lure shoppers back to stores

Companies

McDonald's Korea, Publicis executives hold 'double internship' program

By Kim Jae-heunMcDonald's Korea Chief Marketing Officer Kim Ki-wonMcDonald's Korea Chief Marketing Officer Kim Ki-won and Publicis Groupe Korea Executive Creative Director Nahm Hye-ah have known each other for a long time since the beginning of their careers. Starting out as a copywriter and a brand marketer, they have been working together for the last 25 years advertising products of global firms like P&G, Coca-Cola and Powerade.This year, they met again to hold a contest for an internship experience at both McDonald's Korea and Publicis Groupe Korea, a local branch of the global ad agency. The two female executives received applications for a month starting from Nov. 1 and they have selected three winners already. “There have been marketing contests held by individual firms and agencies before, but this is the first time a global brand and global agency collaborated on one contest,” Nahm said. “This unique collaboration between two global firms will increase the value of McDonald's social contribution program and win our customers' sympathy. The three winners

Dec 23, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

McDonald's Korea, Publicis executives hold 'double internship' program

Companies

Department stores becoming more lucrative as pandemic drags on

Hyundai Department Store in Gangnam, Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Kim Jae-heunLocal department stores are seeing growing sales as the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic prompts customers to purchase luxury goods sold in physical stores, rather than online, as a form of stress relief. To entice customers to visit regularly, department stores have begun putting on art exhibitions and employing other marketing strategies.Among 70 stores nationwide, 10 posted annual sales of more than 1 trillion won ($839.5 billion), with notable performance in the sale of luxury goods. This number is up from five stores in 2020. Hyundai Department Store in Gangnam and Galleria Department Store in Apgujeong, both in southern Seoul, have joined the so-called “1 trillion club” for the first time since their establishments in 1985 and 1990, respectively. Shinsegae Department Store's annual sales have already penetrated 2 trillion won.A number of factors contributed to this golden egg for local department stores, but international travel bans are the biggest reason. “I've saved money that I would no

Dec 21, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Department stores becoming more lucrative as pandemic drags on

Companies

Shinsegae in dilemma over selling off furniture business

Shinsegae Casa's store at Shinsegae Department Store in Seoul / Korea Times fileBy Kim Jae-heunShinsegae Department Store is faced with deciding whether to sell its furniture brand, Shinsegae Casa (formerly known as Casamia) as the business has been racing a number of setbacks.The company does not own a production facility for the furniture brand, which reduces manufacturing costs, but the subsidiary is failing to create a presence in the market.However, Shinsegae Casa has appointed Choi Moon-suk as its new CEO, someone who has ample experience in corporate acquisitions, and industry sources believe he will be able to grow the business before selling it at some point in the near future. Others believe Shinsegae will keep the furniture brand as it will put the retailer in line with No. 2 player Hyundai Livart, as well as Lotte Shopping, which are both waiting for a chance to acquire the country's No. 1 furniture brand, Hanssem. Lotte Group spent 299.5 billion won on Hanssem as a strategic investor when local private equity fund IMM PE acquired the furniture giant in September. It is h

Dec 21, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Shinsegae in dilemma over selling off furniture business

Companies

Lotte Mart in Jamsil to transform into 'Zettaplex'

The new promotional poster for Lotte's premium store brand, Zettaplex / Courtesy of Lotte ShoppingBy Kim Jae-heunLotte Group will reopen its Lotte Mart store in Jamsil under the new name Zettaplex on Dec. 23, after more than a year of renovation work, the company said Monday.Zettaplex will be the largest supermarket branch run by Lotte, and accordingly, it is expected to set a new standard for shopping in the future. Under the slogan “We have everything you want,” Zettaplex will offer a variety of wines, furniture, lifestyle and animal-related products, as well as processed foods.The Bottle Bunker wine store will open on the first floor, which stretches for 1,322 square meters. Bottle Bunker takes up 70 percent of the whole floor, and it will sell 4,000 kinds of wine, with prices ranging from 10,000 won ($8.40) to 100 million won ($84,040). The wine store will classify its products by their origins under three themes: “signal,” “food pairing” and “moment.” There will also be a tasting zone for 80 kinds of alcoholic beverages. Customers

Dec 20, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Lotte Mart in Jamsil to transform into 'Zettaplex'

Tech & Science

International Transport Forum secretary-general gives special lecture to vocational school students

International Transport Forum Secretary-General Kim Young-tae gives a lecture to the students of Seoul Urban Science and Technical High School in Seoul, on Dec. 13. Courtesy of MOLITBy Kim Jae-heunThe Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport invited Kim Young-tae, secretary-general of the International Transport Forum (ITF), to hold a special lecture on the theme of “a global vision” at Seoul Urban Science and Technical High School on Dec. 13.The lecture aimed to instill the students with pride and future-oriented mindsets. Kim also thanked the school for its efforts to develop the overseas construction industry by fostering young talent. “I hope that the passionate students here can contribute to building Korea as a global advanced construction powerhouse,” Kim said.After the lecture, Kim had a question and answer session with the students. They asked about the goals and activities of international organizations, as well as how can they prepare to become global leaders. Seoul Urban Science and Technical High School first opened in March 2016 to foster c

Dec 20, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

International Transport Forum secretary-general gives special lecture to vocational school students

Companies

E-mart to close down premium grocery store PK Market

By Kim Jae-heunE-Mart CEO Kang Hui-seok / Courtesy of E-MartE-mart, the country's largest retailer, is closing down its premium grocery store brand PK Market just five years after its launch.“Beginning 2019, we started reorganizing our specialty store businesses towards profitability and efficiency. Closing down our PK Market at Starfield shopping complexes in Hanam and Goyang is part of the plan,” an E-Mart official said. PK Market is a special grocery store chain that sells imported high-end food products. The products sold there are more expensive than those available in ordinary supermarkets, but cheaper than what's on offer at SSG Food Market, E-Mart's premium grocery store chain. E-Mart had also introduced a new concept called “grocerant” at PK Market that combines a grocery store and a restaurant.However, COVID-19 forced people to purchase food online or shop at big-box retail stores offering big price discounts, which caused PK Market to suffer declining sales. E-Mart appointed Kang Hui-seok as its CEO in March 2020 who has been leading a business resh

Dec 17, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

E-mart to close down premium grocery store PK Market

Companies

Yogiyo ends on-demand grocery delivery business in Korea

Yogiyo's scooters are parked at the company local branch in Seoul on June, 2020. YonhapBy Kim Jae-heunDelivery Hero has closed its Yo Mart on-demand grocery delivery service in Korea. The company said it closed down 10 distribution centers in Seoul that had been rented until 2022, terminating the contract early due to intensifying competition in the quick commerce industry.“Quick commerce is a service that delivers daily necessities to customers within 30 minutes utilizing fulfilment centers established in local towns. Ending the rent contracts for the facility means Delivery Hero will no longer run a quick commerce business in Korea,” an industry source said. Delivery Hero Store Korea (DHSK), the subsidiary that operates Yo Mart, terminated as of last month rental contracts for its distribution centers located in Gangnam, Songpa and Gwanak districts of Seoul. A former DHSK official said the company no longer operates any of the 10 fulfilment centers in Seoul.Delivery Hero ended Yo Mart's service in September. There was talk of a possible merger with B Mart, a quick comme

Dec 17, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Yogiyo ends on-demand grocery delivery business in Korea

Companies

CJ scion likely to be promoted to executive position

By Kim Jae-heunCJ Group heir Lee Sun-ho, the eldest son of Chairman Lee Jay-hyun, is likely to be promoted to executive director of CJ CheilJedang in a personnel reshuffle scheduled for next week, according to multiple industry sources. CJ Group heir Lee Sun-ho / Korea Time fileIf true, the promotion will speed up the group's hereditary succession of management to two of the chairman's children ― Lee Sun-ho, and eldest daughter Lee Kyung-hoo, executive vice president of CJ ENM.Previously, Lee Sun-ho was dismissed from the company after being sentenced to a suspended jail term for drug smuggling in Sept. 2019. However, CJ Group brought the heir back into the fold in January to oversee CJ CheilJedang's global marketing business.Most of CJ Group's scions shun making public appearances. However, Lee Sun-ho showed up at a signing ceremony for a global marketing partnership with the Los Angeles Lakers at the Staples Center, Sept. 20, following a request from the basketball team and its owner, Jeanie Buss. That event was viewed as CJ Group's confirmation of Lee Sun-ho's looming leaders

Dec 16, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

CJ scion likely to be promoted to executive position

Companies

CJ CheilJedang to launch bioscience brand

CJ CheilJedang's building in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province / Korea Times fileBy Kim Jae-heunThe country's No. 1 food company, CJ CheilJedang, is gearing up to introduce a new biotechnology brand next month. The brand, CJ Bioscience, will offer products and services in the field of red biotechnology involving therapeutic and pharmaceutical applications. It is part of CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun's plan to boost its “wellness” business, which is one of the four growth engines he aims to cultivate over the next three years.CJ CheilJedang acquired ChunLab, a bioinformatics company, in July this year. ChunLab will merge with CJ Cheiljedang's existing red bio business Jan. 3. Recently, CJ Group also acquired Batavia Biosciences, a Dutch cell and gene therapy contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO), to pioneer the market together. “CJ Bioscience is a company that promotes the development of new microbiome-based drugs. We are planning to use Batavia as a bridgehead to enter the CDMO business and gain a stronger foothold in the red bio business,” a CJ Cheil

Dec 16, 2021By Kim Jae-heun

Kim Jae-heun

Read more

Shinsegae, Lotte use low-priced wine to lure shoppers back to stores

McDonald's Korea, Publicis executives hold 'double internship' program

Department stores becoming more lucrative as pandemic drags on

Shinsegae in dilemma over selling off furniture business

Lotte Mart in Jamsil to transform into 'Zettaplex'

International Transport Forum secretary-general gives special lecture to vocational school students

E-mart to close down premium grocery store PK Market

Yogiyo ends on-demand grocery delivery business in Korea

CJ scion likely to be promoted to executive position

CJ CheilJedang to launch bioscience brand

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