SOUTH KOREA. JDC Duty Free Shop plans to almost double the retail space at Jeju International Airport later this year to cope with booming demand.
JDC operates in the domestic area of the airport, serving Korean travellers returning to the mainland. Korean nationals are entitled to buy up to US$400 worth of duty free goods, up to six times a year, when they visit the island of Jeju.
Currently JDC runs a 1,782sq m store at the airport plus two smaller stores at the ferry port.
 |
Korean travellers, able to buy duty free due to special regulations, pour into the JDC store at Jeju International Airport |
 |
Spirits (led by perennial Korean favourite Ballantine’s) and wine (with Inniskillin to the fore) are key categories |
Sales Department General Manager Kyong Hoon Kim told The Moodie Report: “We will be looking for new brands in time for the launch. We plan to have more variety in the shop and we hope to almost double the sales.”
Such a result would make JDC a very sizable retailer. Last year it generated sales of US$270 million (mostly from the airport store), up +16% year-on-year, despite the troubled Korean economy.
“This year’s target is around US$306 million,” Kim told The Moodie Report during an interview at the airport.
Sales per customer last year increased from US$110 in 2008 to US$120.
 |
Kyong Hoon Kim: “We plan to have more variety in the shop and we hope to almost double the sales” |
Key to that performance was the popularity of high-end items, notably JDC’s number one seller, Ballantine’s 21yo, followed by SK-II and Korean Red Ginseng.
[NOTE: JDC will be profiled in the February issue of The Moodie Report Print Edition, which focuses on the South Korean and Japanese travel retail markets, as well as Americas coverage for the Duty Free Show of the Americas in Orlando].
 |
Estée Lauder sales are soaring at JDC, helping to make cosmetics the number one category |
 |
The popular Bourjois counter attracts heavy interest from Korean women |
Advertisement |
