Duty-free items to be sold within country starting Wednesday
- 4 years ago
발묶인 면세품들, 오늘부터 온라인•오프라인 풀린다
With fewer people flying, duty-free shops have seen their profits tumble.
To help the struggling industry, the South Korean government has introduced special measures, including allowing them to sell duty free items within the country.
The first duty free shop to sell online was Shinsegae, but with so many people bombarding the website... it is currently down.
Jang Tae-hyun reports.
The number of foreign visitors to South Korea fell by 43 percent on-year in February, and plunged by 95 percent in March due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
And duty free stores have felt the brunt of this drop in visitors.
In the first quarter of this year, Lotte Duty Free's profits were down 96 percent compared to the previous year.
And The Shilla and Shinsegae saw operating losses of 40 million U.S. dollars and 26-point-five million dollars respectively.
To help those firms overcome this difficult period, the Korea Customs Service will allow them to sell items that have been stocked up for more than six months.
Shinsegae was among the first to start selling some brands online with a 10 to 50 percent discount this Wednesday.
"People can make online reservations, pay taxes and receive the items at home in about a week."
Lotte Duty Free will sell those items at offline stores from June 26th.
Duty-free shops will sell surplus products, except items like cosmetics, perfume, alcohol and dietary supplements, until October 29th.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Monday that airports in Korea will reduce the rent for businesses at the airport.
Small and medium-sized businesses will get up to a 75 percent off while larger companies can get up to 50 percent off.
Jang Tae-hyun, Arirang News
With fewer people flying, duty-free shops have seen their profits tumble.
To help the struggling industry, the South Korean government has introduced special measures, including allowing them to sell duty free items within the country.
The first duty free shop to sell online was Shinsegae, but with so many people bombarding the website... it is currently down.
Jang Tae-hyun reports.
The number of foreign visitors to South Korea fell by 43 percent on-year in February, and plunged by 95 percent in March due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
And duty free stores have felt the brunt of this drop in visitors.
In the first quarter of this year, Lotte Duty Free's profits were down 96 percent compared to the previous year.
And The Shilla and Shinsegae saw operating losses of 40 million U.S. dollars and 26-point-five million dollars respectively.
To help those firms overcome this difficult period, the Korea Customs Service will allow them to sell items that have been stocked up for more than six months.
Shinsegae was among the first to start selling some brands online with a 10 to 50 percent discount this Wednesday.
"People can make online reservations, pay taxes and receive the items at home in about a week."
Lotte Duty Free will sell those items at offline stores from June 26th.
Duty-free shops will sell surplus products, except items like cosmetics, perfume, alcohol and dietary supplements, until October 29th.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said Monday that airports in Korea will reduce the rent for businesses at the airport.
Small and medium-sized businesses will get up to a 75 percent off while larger companies can get up to 50 percent off.
Jang Tae-hyun, Arirang News