Doosan pulls out of duty-free business

A Doota Duty Free shop in Seoul / Korea Times file

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Doosan Group will pull out of the duty-free business due to declining sales and intensifying competition, the company said Tuesday.

Doosan said its board decided to end the business, and will discuss with the customs agency to decide when it will close its outlets.

Since its launch in May 2016, the group's duty-free business has logged more than 70 billion won ($60 million) in aggregated losses.

Doosan explained that although Doota Duty Free succeeded in achieving a turnaround in 2018, it is pessimistic about making profits in the long-term.

“We've decided to drop the duty-free business due to a declining number of Chinese visitors and fierce competition,” a Doosan Group official said in a statement.

The nation's duty-free operators suffered a sharp fall in the number of Chinese tourists amid a diplomatic row between Seoul and Beijing over the deployment of an advanced U.S. missile defense system called the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) in Korea.

China had banned its travel agencies from selling Korea-bound package tours in apparent retaliation over the deployment of the THAAD system.

Doosan's exit comes after Hanwha Group announced it was shuttering its duty-free business earlier in April, citing increased losses and fierce competition.