SOUTH KOREA. The usual bustling scenes of resellers and tourists standing in line to purchase duty free goods in the world’s largest duty free market were replaced with a quiet absence today (29 January).
However, on this occasion at least, the coronavirus was not to blame.
The Lunar New Year festive period typically results in a -20% week-on-week decline in sales in South Korea’s duty free market with resellers back in China to enjoy time off with family and relatives. Lotte Duty Free confirmed that the Lunar New Year period is yielding a similar performance this year.
As the travel retail industry anxiously awaits the return of resellers, China’s decision to extend the Lunar New Year Holiday to 2 February (which was originally set to run from 24-30 January) is expected to result in a negative impact to the Korean duty free industry.
The continued suspension of packaged tours to Korea will also affect the duty free market and the impact will be felt more severely than before.
The Moodie Davitt Report’s check in Korea shows most resellers have not yet returned (see pictures on this page), while several Korean media sources have indicated that resellers have been purchasing medical items such as face masks and disinfectants.
Ecommerce platforms such as Alibaba have pledged to keep prices low, but top-quality masks from South Korea are in high demand with Chinese residents keen on acquiring authentic products.
Minimising the risk of infection
The below series of videos, supplied by Lotte Duty Free, show coronavirus prevention measures at the retailer’s Seoul Myeong-dong store.
