SOUTH KOREA. Shinsegae Duty Free is close to shutting down its Busan downtown duty free store (in Shinsegae Centum City) amid continued tough trading conditions in Korean travel retail in general and Busan in particular.
“The duty-free industry in Korea has not yet fully recovered from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has been especially challenging for regional duty-free shops,” a Shinsegae Duty Free spokesperson told The Moodie Davitt Report.
“In this context, we are currently reviewing the potential surrender of the licence for the Busan duty-free shop.”
The closure comes just under nine years since the store was opened amid very different conditions in Korean travel retail.
Influential Korean media title Maeil Business newspaper reported that Korea’s number three travel retailer (and world number eight according to The Moodie Davitt Report’s latest annual ranking) had already made the decision to close the Centum City branch due to poor performance.
According to the report, the service union representing workers said Shinsegae Duty Free had notified suppliers on 30 December of its plans to close the outlet. No timing was finalised but the union said it could be as soon as 24 January.
Weekend operations had already been suspended from December, noted the report, amid a downturn in business. ✈
