SOUTH KOREA. Lotte Duty Free has expanded its offer by welcoming a host of new beauty and fashion brands at its Myeong-dong flagship store in Seoul, including Ami Paris, Maison Kitsuné and Simihaze Beauty.
The enhanced beauty offer is to lure back the Youke (유커/遊客) – a reference to Chinese group tourists – who have started to return to South Korea after more than six years. As reported, the Republic was included in The Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the People’s Republic of China latest list of approved countries to which group tours can resume travelling, effective 10 August.
The travel retailer said the first Chinese group tourists who arrived last month boosted sales by about +16% week-on-week.
Lotte Duty Free said it had added multiple cosmetics and fashion products that are highly popular with Chinese customers to its downtown offering.
Ami Paris and Maison Kitsuné stores were unveiled recently on the 10th floor. These labels have become increasingly popular among consumers in their 20s and 30s.
Founded by French designer Alexandre Mattiussi in 2011, Ami Paris has become a globally successful fashion label, renowned for its signature De Coeur logo. Its range includes knitwear, bags, hats and scarves.
To celebrate the brand’s opening, Lotte Duty Free is giving away hats, wallets and other items on a first come, first served basis, depending on the purchase level.
Maison Kitsuné, another brand that has become a hit among Gen Z’s, is showcasing its popular collections, including apparel, bags and other fashion items. Maison Kitsuné is renowned for the fox head emblem embroidered on many of its apparel and accessories.
As a promotional offer, the retailer is giving away seven types of Maison Kitsuné fox character stickers to shoppers, again on a first-come-first-served basis. The offer is valid for those who purchase more than US$500. Those who spend more than US$1,000 will receive a branded tote bag and a card wallet worth KRW200,000 (US$152) on a first-come, first-served basis. Qualified shoppers will also receive a wallet.
New beauty brands take to the stage
Lotte Duty Free continues to update its beauty brand line-up by welcoming emerging labels that are especially popular among young consumers. In January, as reported, the retailer launched local beauty brand Nonfiction in Myeong-dong.
The latest addition to its beauty portfolio is Simihaze Beauty, a makeup brand launched in 2021 by twins Simi and Haze Khadra, who are also world-renowned DJs and beauty influencers. The brand has earned rave reviews from the most-followed social media influencers as well as Hollywood and K-pop it girls, including Blackpink’s Jennie.
Simihaze Beauty is located on the 11th floor, its first and only location in South Korean duty free, the retailer noted.
Lotte Duty Free opened a separate location on the 12th floor highlighting around 15 types of makeup products, including lip products, powder and eyeliner. The brand’s best-sellers include the Velvet Blur Matte Lip Balm the matte lipstick, Super Slick Lip Balm that come in minimal yet stylish packaging and Solar Tint Blush Duo, which contains skin-soothing ingredients and is rich in antioxidants.
As a promotional gift, customers who purchase Simihaze Beauty products and Stackables line during the month of September will get a compact mirror with the Simi Haze logo on a first-come, first-served basis. Shoppers who buy these products will also receive a hand mirror.
Offered already within the Lotte Duty Free online shop, German luxury skincare brand Augustinus Bader has now made its debut on the 12th floor. In 2021 the brand was named ‘The greatest skincare of all time’ by 300 beauty insiders from WWD, Vogue and Beauty Inc. Its products feature high-potency TFC8, a complex that uses the body’s own skincare to promote skin cell regeneration.
How two chance meetings helped shape a unicorn – the Augustinus Bader story “But I think the fact I was ready to sleep under a bridge meant he probably thought there must be something behind the project because this guy was giving up the last thing he had. It was true. I was not making up the story.”
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In addition, the 800-year-old Italian premium cosmetics brand Santa Maria Novella now has its physical store at the retailer’s Myeong-dong main branch. Customers who purchase a certain amount receive samples of Idralia cream and Rosa Gardenia perfume.
Lotte Duty Free Product Division Head Lee Jeong-min said: “We have strengthened our brand line to meet customer demand in accordance with the recent rapidly changing fashion and beauty trend. Especially during the holidays from late September to early October, domestic and foreign customers use duty free stores. We expect this to increase, and we plan to work hard to secure popular products.” ✈
