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Jan 15, 2025 | 
insideretail.asia | Ashley Song |Anil Prabha |Rocky Swift
Seoul residents aged 50 and above have significantly increased their spending over the past five years, while consumption among those in their 40s has remained flat or declined in many sectors, according to a recent study. According to a research report released on January 9 by the Seoul 50 Plus Foundation, analyzing credit card spending data between 2019 and 2024, consumption among Seoul’s middle-aged population showed striking generational differences.
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Dec 4, 2024 | 
insideretail.asia | Ashley Song |Irene Dong |Celene Ignacio |Anil Prabha
Amid years of declining traditional retail sales, warehouse clubs are emerging as bright spots in South Korea’s brick-and-mortar retail landscape. E-mart’s Traders and Costco Korea are bucking the trend of offline retail struggles and inflation-driven consumer caution, primarily through their bulk-sale, low-price business model.
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Nov 18, 2024 | 
insidefmcg.com.au | Ashley Song
CJ CheilJedang’s Bibigo brand is set to launch a global collaboration with Netflix’s hit series “Squid Game” Season 2, marking a significant partnership between South Korea’s leading food brand and entertainment content. The food giant announced on November 14 that the collaborative campaign will roll out across 14 countries, including South Korea, the United States, Australia, and Japan, as well as a number of European nations.
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Oct 15, 2024 | 
insideretail.asia | Ashley Song |Anil Prabha |Irene Dong |Celene Ignacio
The coastal city of Pohang in North Gyeongsang Province is actively pursuing Costco, the American multinational wholesale corporation, in a bid to boost its local economy and improve living conditions for its residents. However, the potential location of the store has become a topic of debate among citizens and officials alike.
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Jun 25, 2024 | 
insideretail.asia | Ashley Song |Vasudevan Sridharan |Tong Van
In a delayed disclosure, the French luxury conglomerate LVMH revealed that nearly 2,900 South Korean customers’ personal data was compromised in a cyberattack on its high-end watch brand Tag Heuer in late 2019 and 2020. The breach, which also affected customers globally, has reignited concerns over the protection of personal information held by overseas companies.
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Jun 20, 2024 | 
insideretail.asia | Ashley Song |Tong Van
As the banner announcing a “50-80 per cent Clearance Sale” hung over the H Optical shop at the Homeplus store in Anyang, the mood among the tenants was a mix of anger and resignation. In late April, these small business owners, operating rental shops within the Homeplus outlet, received abrupt notice to vacate the premises by the end of July, citing poor sales performance.
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Jun 10, 2024 | 
insideretail.asia | Ashley Song |Tong Van
Facing mounting losses due to the emergence of formidable “C-commerce” rivals like Alibaba’s AliExpress and Temu, South Korea’s major e-commerce players have embarked on aggressive cost-cutting measures. Industry experts predict that these efforts to bolster profitability, rather than pursue growth at any cost, will continue throughout the year as external factors like sluggish consumer spending amplify uncertainties in the retail landscape.
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May 22, 2024 | 
insideretail.asia | Ashley Song |Irene Dong |Tong Van |Rakshnna Pattabiraman
Hy, a South Korean retail company, is set to venture into the food delivery app market next month with the launch of its new platform, Knowk. According to food industry sources on May 20, Hy plans to introduce Knowk sometime in June. Ahead of the app’s debut, the company is actively recruiting restaurant partners with the slogan, “Restaurant owners, just prepare the food.
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May 20, 2024 | 
insideretail.asia | Ashley Song |Tong Van |Yatu Widders Hunt |Anil Prabha
The competition among South Korea’s major food delivery apps — Baedal Minjok, Coupang Eats and Yogiyo — to poach customers from one another is intensifying into a bruising battle. The clash among the three services erupted last year over discounts on delivery fees. After a brief lull, their rivalry reignited last month with the introduction of free delivery offers, and it is now escalating further with the rollout of subscription services.
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May 12, 2024 | 
insideretail.asia | Ashley Song |Anil Prabha |Aron Lewin
The National Tax Service of South Korea has initiated a special tax investigation into Coupang, the nation’s top e-commerce company. Authorities are examining the flow of funds between Coupang’s Korean entity, wholly owned by the US-based Coupang Inc. in Delaware, and its overseas affiliates. This probe coincides with looming scrutiny from the Fair Trade Commission over allegations that Coupang manipulated algorithms to prominently display its own private-label products in search results.
