Shinsegae to “change duty free industry” with Gangnam Central City store

By Liam Coleman in Asia/Pacific, Cosmetics, Downtown, Fashion & Leathergoods, Fragrance, Gifts & Electronics, Jewellery & Watches, Latest News, Lead Stories, Retail News July 19, 2018 Comments Off on Shinsegae sets major shift in Korean duty free with Gangnam store

The mammoth 13,570sqm store opened in Gangnam on 18 July

The CEO of Shinsegae Duty Free has said the Korean retailer’s new downtown store in Seoul’s Gangnam district “will be the starting point of changing [the] duty free industry” in the country.

As reported yesterday (18 July), the 13,570sqm store has opened across five floors in the district’s Central City complex.

Speaking after the store’s opening, Shinsegae Duty Free CEO Son Yung-Sik declared: “Shinsegae Duty Free’s Gangnam store will be [a] global tourism destination. Connecting with [the] Seocho, Gangnam areas and various places in Korea, we will strive to contribute to the growth of [the] Korean tourism industry.”

The stunning seven-metre media facade attracts consumer attention

Upon entering the downtown duty-free store, customers are greeted by a seven-metre, 3D media facade greeting them in several languages.

The product lineup comprises of 350 brands, with a particular focus on luxury products in the shoes, watches and accessories categories.

Shoe brands Manolo Blahnik, famous for featuring in TV show Sex and the City, and Sergio Rossi will be available in South Korea for the first time at the Shinsegae store.

The store will also feature an extended lineup of footwear, bags and accessories from the likes of Gucci, Saint Laurent and Kenzo; luxury watch brands including Breguet and Hublot; fashion and shoe products from Birkenstock and Melissa; and Korean fashion brands including Vov and G Cut.

Shinsegae said local brands make up 36% of the product offer. An SNS Playground allows customers to take photos for use on social media using specialised lighting in an area where Korean influencers take product shots of Korean small to medium-sized companies.

Elsewhere in the store is the Volcano Shop, featuring toys and electronics from Marvel and Disney characters, including Iron Man and Captain America.

Connected to the lobby area of the Central City complex’s JW Marriott Seoul hotel is a perfume boutique, which will be revealed at the same time as the hotel’s reopening in August.

The downtown duty-free store is central to Shinsegae’s plans to make the Central City complex the number one shopping destination in Seoul’s affluent Gangnam area.

One million people pass through the complex every day due to its convenient location for local tourism spots, such as the Seorae, Apgujung-dong and Itaewon areas, as well as dining facilities and public transport connections.

With the opening of the store, Shinsegae has enhanced its claim to be the third biggest duty-free operator in South Korea – behind Lotte Duty Free and The Shilla Duty Free.

Not only has the burgeoning retailer now opened two downtown duty-free stores in Seoul in recent years, it has also secured several key retail concessions at Incheon International Airport in the last 12 months – the most recent of which is set to open in early August.

As a result, Shinsegae is anticipating sales of ‎₩3tn ($2.63bn) in 2018, triple the amount seen in 2017.

In 2011 when Shinsegae took over Paradise Duty Free, its sales were ₩144.3bn – 3% of the Korean market. If the retailer hits its anticipated 2017 target, it will hold a 20% share of sales in the massively lucrative Korean duty-free industry, the company stated.