SOUTH KOREA. French luxury house Chanel has confirmed its intention to close its duty free boutiques in Busan and Jeu, respectively, in a statement to The Moodie Davitt Report. The boutiques are housed at Lotte Duty Free (Busan) and The Shilla Duty Free (Jeju), respectively.
The Korea Herald broke the story earlier this week, noting that the closures came on top of recent duty free market withdrawals by fellow luxury houses Louis Vuitton and Rolex.
“Chanel Korea has decided to close Busan and Jeju fashion travel retail boutiques on March 31, 2022,” the company said. “This decision has come after deep and careful consideration and review with respect to our employees as well as overall business sustainability.
“We intend to focus our travel retail operations on Seoul downtown and airport businesses, as shown by the new boutique we opened in the Terminal 1 of the Incheon Airport, which enable us to offer our clients the best boutique experience while maintaining our position as a top luxury brand.”
Chanel opened a 405sq m boutique at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 on 1 October, in partnership with Hyundai Department Store Duty Free. The opening marked Chanel’s return to Terminal 1 after a six-year absence.
As reported, fellow luxury house Louis Vuitton opted to withdraw from its Jeju operation (Shilla) and Lotte Duty Free boutiques in Busan and Lotte World, Seoul.
The LVMH luxury powerhouse plans to exit three more of its Korean operations in March – The Shilla Duty Free in Jeju, Lotte Duty Free in Busan and at Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, Seoul – leaving just three remaining Korean downtown duty free Louis Vuitton doors, all in Seoul.
As revealed by The Moodie Davitt Report, those three doors are also expected to close between October this year and March 2023.
