SOUTH KOREA. Following the cessation of its boutique operations at Lotte Duty Free Jeju in December, the French luxury brand plans to exit three more of its Korean operations in March, The Moodie Davitt Report understands reliably.
The closure of those three stores – The Shilla Duty Free in Jeju, Lotte Duty Free in Busan and at Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, Seoul – will leave Louis Vuitton with just three remaining Korean downtown duty free doors, all in Seoul.
Although travel retailers are still hopeful of a change in heart – “We are still in discussion with the brand,” one prominent player told The Moodie Davitt Report – Louis Vuitton’s current plan is to close the final three doors between October this year and March 2023.
As reported, the downtown closures reflect a decision to refocus the brand’s travel retail presence around airport stores – including a fast-growing footprint in Chinese domestic air terminals.
Louis Vuitton plans to have five airport stores open in Mainland China by the end of 2022, including its existing stores at Beijing Capital International (it also opened in the domestic zone at the new Beijing Daxing International Airport in 2019) and Shanghai Hongqiao. As reported, the company is also set to open a spectacular new duplex store at Hong Kong International Airport.
