SEOUL, Jun. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – As the early summer heat sets in, the demand for watermelons is rising in earnest. While customers seeking large watermelons weighing over 6 kilograms, with the adage “the bigger, the better,” remain steady, mini watermelons and pre-cut watermelon slices are gaining immense popularity due to the increasing number of single [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 8 (Korea Bizwire) –As South Korean consumers increasingly pursue value amid high inflation, convenience store chains are rolling out a wave of ultra-low-cost products priced below 1,000 won. With the “lunchhflation” of soaring midday meal costs straining office workers, these inexpensive food items have found particular appeal as affordable lunch options. The popular [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 4 (Korea Bizwire) – Park, a 30-year-old office worker, recently made an uncharacteristic choice while shopping online: Instead of her usual environmentally friendly detergent, she added a regular brand to her virtual cart. Since starting to live independently in 2021, Park had used biodegradable sponges, shampoo bars and other eco-friendly products. But with prices [...]
SEOUL, Jun. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Private equity firm MBK Partners is set to sell the supermarket business unit of Homeplus Co., a discount store chain in South Korea, according to financial sources on Monday. MBK Partners, which owns 100 percent of Homeplus, has put Homeplus Express up for sale, appointing Morgan Stanley to manage [...]
SEOUL, May 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Retail sales in South Korea grew 10.8 percent on-year in April on the back of stronger demand from the online segment, data showed Tuesday. The combined sales of 25 major offline and online retailers came to 15.4 trillion won (US$11.2 billion) for last month, compared with 13.9 trillion won [...]
SEOUL, May 28 (Korea Bizwire) – As South Korea’s wine market enters a more mature phase, expensive bottles priced over 100,000 won have been gaining popularity at major retail chains’ wine festivals, industry data shows. According to retailers, sales growth rates for wines costing over 100,000 won outpaced other price segments during the semi-annual “Super Wine [...]
SEOUL, May 22 (Korea Bizwire) – As economic headwinds stir up demand for safe-haven assets, convenience stores in South Korea are seeing a surge of younger buyers snapping up affordable, bite-sized gold bars, underscoring the appeal of the precious metal as a compact investment during turbulent times. Convenience store operators say sales of card-sized gold bars [...]
SEOUL, May 22 (Korea Bizwire) – 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 [...]
SEOUL, May 20 (Korea Bizwire) –As health-conscious consumers grow in numbers, zero-calorie drinks have surpassed 50 percent of carbonated beverage sales at convenience stores in South Korea. GS25, a major convenience store chain, announced on May 21 that from January to April of this year, zero-calorie drinks accounted for 52.3 percent of its total carbonated [...]
SEOUL, May 20 (Korea Bizwire) – E-Mart24, a leading convenience store chain in South Korea, announced on May 19 that all 30,000 units of its highly anticipated Bitcoin Lunchboxes, launched as part of a promotion in collaboration with the cryptocurrency exchange Bithumb on May 8, had sold out amid overwhelming customer demand. Priced at 5,500 won, [...]