Luxury boutiques boost Shinsegae sales, earnings

A giant digital facade lights up the area outside Shinsegae Department Store’s main branch in Myeong-dong, central Seoul, Feb. 5. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul.

Major retail conglomerate Shinsegae Group posted sales and earnings that exceeded market expectations last year, driven by a strong performance by its department store businesses and a surge in foreign visitors.

The group said Monday that its sales last year reached 12.8 trillion won ($8.78 billion), up 4.4 percent from the previous year. Operating profit came to 480 billion won, up 3 billion won from 2024.

The bulk of the performance came from the group’s 13 Shinsegae Department Stores nationwide. The businesses generated 7.4 trillion won in sales, up 2.2 percent, and operating profit of 406 billion won, an increase of 1.6 billion won.

The expansion of the group’s intellectual property-driven thematic department store strategy, branded as "House of Shinsegae," along with the consistent hosting of trendy pop-up stores, contributed to the results. The group said the figures demonstrated that its “strategic and consistent investments in department stores were worthwhile.”

The top revenue-generating store was the Gangnam branch in Seoul, where total transaction volume surpassed 3 trillion won for the third consecutive year. Shinsegae Centum City in Busan also recorded sales exceeding 2 trillion won for the third year in a row — a milestone yet to be achieved by any Shinsegae department store outside the capital region. Stores in Daegu, Daejeon and Gwangju further solidified their dominance in regional markets.

Models pose with lip glosses from Shinsegae International’s beauty brand Amuse in this January photo. Courtesy of Shinsegae International.

The group’s flagship Shinsegae department store in Seoul’s Myeong-dong district underwent a large-scale renovation last year, introducing additional luxury brands. The group said its Louis Vuitton store is now the largest in the world, while its Hermes store — the biggest in Korea — and a Chanel boutique were also newly added, strengthening the store’s position as a “luxury mansion.”

Shinsegae department stores also recorded significant growth in sales to foreign customers last year. With sales jumping 70 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter alone, total purchases by foreign shoppers reached 650 billion won.

“Despite challenging conditions, our investments in department stores led to growth in both scale and quality,” a Shinsegae Group official said.

Other retail subsidiaries also delivered improved performances. Shinsegae Duty Free and home shopping unit Shinsegae Live Shopping both posted gains in sales and earnings.

Shinsegae International, the group’s beauty and fashion arm, recorded a 5.6 percent increase in sales and has begun strengthening profit maximization efforts in Europe, the United States, Japan and China. Its private brands — including skin care labels Yunjac and Vidivici and cosmetics brand Amuse — will spearhead its global expansion.