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“We will do our best to make Shilla IPark Duty Free the world’s best duty free store and to make Seoul a global shopping destination. We will take the lead to promote the nation’s tourism industry.” – HDC Shilla Co-Presidents Changhoon Yang and Gilhan Lee
SOUTH KOREA. The new Shilla IPark Duty Free, soft opened on 24 December, will celebrate its Grand Opening in March 2016 with a powerful array of international brands and the biggest-ever “˜K-wave’ (Korean wave) zone.
As reported, the store was partially opened this week over 16,500sq m of space on an initial three floors within the IPark Mall in Yongsan, Seoul.
Several luxury brand boutiques, including Salvatore Ferragamo, Valextra, Vivienne Westwood and Bally are already part of the mix. More will be added by the time of the Grand Opening, when some 30,400sq m of space will be open across the third to seventh floors.
Commenting on the retailer’s ability to attract the key luxury brands deemed so crucial to the final offer, HDC Shilla said: “Seven years ago, when Ms Boo-Jin Lee, the CEO of Shilla, declared that she would invite Louis Vuitton to Incheon International Airport, most people in the industry thought that it would not be feasible because the nature of the airport itself could be commonly represented as “˜Fast, quick, and cheap’.
“However, she finally created another success story in the duty free industry [Louis Vuitton eventually opened at Incheon with The Shilla Duty Free in September 2011 -Ed]. Now again it is expected that in the centre of Seoul, Shilla IPark duty free will succeed by creating unique shopping environments and providing differentiated services that other duty free stores cannot match.”
The new store is particularly notable for its impressive ceiling heights, a factor that the joint venture retailer believes will be a major lure for other luxury brands.
When fully open, the complex will be the world’s largest downtown duty free facililty, offering over 600 brands, HDC Shilla claimed.
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(Above and below) Opening day at Shilla IPark duty free and expectant shoppers peruse the beauty offer |
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Shilla IPark duty free: A stunning addition to Korea’s travel retail landscape |
TAKING A VOYAGE OF KOREAN DISCOVERY
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Shilla-IPark this week launched a concept called ‘K-Discovery duty free’, focusing on the whole Korean wave phenomenon.
K-Discovery aims to tap into the mounting popularity of shopping-focused tourism, bringing together the attractions not only of the capital Seoul but also other provinces in Korea through the notion of “˜Rediscovery of Korea’.
Shilla-IPark aims to become the centre of Korean-Wave tourism, promoting Korean cosmetics and fashion goods, provincial tourism, and helping to develop regional economies.
Some 6,300sq m of space is dedicated to Korean cosmetics and global brands popular with Chinese tourists. This includes the country’s largest “˜K-cosmetics and “˜K-Bag’ zones, offering over 270 cosmetics, fashion and accessory brands.
The third and fourth floors feature luxury fashion and global cosmetics brands. The third floor luxury zone is packed with imported cosmetics and high-end timepieces.
HDC Shilla said, “We have most of the cosmetics and luxury watch brands loved by Chinese visitors. We have increased the number of K-cosmetics, which have recently shown a large increase in sales, so we are expecting to achieve about 90% of our sales goal even before the Grand Opening.”
Shilla IPark is located in the middle of one of Korea’s biggest shopping and cultural complexes, which includes a hypermarket, hotel, spa, theatre and cinema (featuring the world’s largest 3D IMAX screen). The Moodie Report will bring you an on location report from Seoul in early 2016.
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(Above and below) These images, courtesy of HDC Shilla, capture the glamour of what the joint venture retailer has called a ‘Premium Lifestyle Shopping Destination’ |
SETTING UP “˜TOURISM BASE CAMP’
To service the expected heavy group tour demand, Shilla IPark duty free has created a “˜Tourism Base Camp’ with plentiful parking spaces for tour buses. From the bus parking lot tourists can reach the entrance of the duty free store directly via exclusive escalators dubbed “˜Crystal Gate’.
Once fully developed the parking lot will accommodate up to 400 tour buses.
“˜K-Discovery Travel Package’ will be introduced in collaboration with each local government, Korail, travel agencies and the duty free store to boost tours of provincial Korea.
In addition, the wider IPark mall will be upgraded to provide a range of services promoting various tours as well as extended shopping facilities, in order to complement Shilla IPark duty free.
HDC Shilla Co-Presidents Changhoon Yang and Gilhan Lee said: “We will do our best to make Shilla I’Park Duty Free the world’s best duty free store and to make Seoul a global shopping destination. We will take the lead to promote the nation’s tourism industry.”
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