3 major department stores post record H1 foreign sales amid K-wave

Department store The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido / Couretsy of Hyundai Department Store

Korea's three major department store chains said Monday they posted record first-half sales from foreign shoppers, driven by the growing popularity of Korean fashion and other K-content.

In the January-June period, foreign purchases at Hyundai Department Store, Shinsegae Department Store and Lotte Department Store reached 500 billion won ($332 million), 580 billion won and 600 billion won, respectively, nearing their full-year totals for 2025, according to the companies' sales data.

In 2025, Hyundai, Shinsegae and Lotte posted foreign sales of 700 billion won, 650 billion won and 730 billion won, respectively.

All three expect their annual foreign sales to exceed 1 trillion won for the first time this year.

"Foreign sales at Lotte Department Store's Myeongdong branch in central Seoul surged 140 percent from a year earlier in the first half, with foreign shoppers accounting for 70 percent of sales at Kinetic Ground, a dedicated K-fashion zone targeting young global consumers," a Lotte source said.

The customer base has expanded beyond Greater China to include visitors from North America and Europe this year, he said.

To attract more foreign shoppers, Hyundai Department Store said it will provide more sophisticated services and content while strengthening store-specific marketing strategies.

The company introduced its artificial intelligence (AI) shopping assistant, HEYDI Global, in June last year and launched a real-time AI translation service between store employees and customers in June this year.

Local department stores once relied heavily on Chinese shoppers, but a growing number of non-Chinese customers are emerging as a major source of demand for Korean products.

"In 2019, nearly 78 percent of our foreign sales came from Chinese customers. But the figure fell to 48.5 percent in the first half of this year. Customers from the United States and other Asian countries accounted for 19 percent and 15 percent of foreign sales, respectively, in the first half," a Shinsegae official said.