South Korean home appliance maker Coway has said its new advertisements featuring K-pop group BTS have racked up over 10 million views on YouTube. In yet another sign of the group’s commercial success in the advertisement industry, the septet’s commercials promoting the company’s products, including a water purifier and a mattress, were met with millions of views and over 25,000 comments within 17 days, Coway said. The ads, which are available on the company’s official

WeMakePrice O and Baemin to adopt ‘One order per delivery’ amid growing competition

Namyang Dairy Products, a major dairy producer here, has come under fire for claiming its yogurt drink prevents COVID-19. At a symposium hosted by the Korea Research & Institute of Bio Medical Science on Tuesday, the head of Namyang Dairy’s internal research institute presented the results of its research on Bulgaris, the firm’s yogurt drink. “We’re the first firm in the country that has discovered fermented dairy products are effective in preventing influenza and

K-pop juggernaut boy band BTS is the new face of Korean beer brand Kloud, Lotte Chilsung Beverage said Thursday. The South Korean maker of liquor, soft drinks and tea has signed a modeling contract with the septet – RM, Suga, J-Hope, Jin, Jimin, V and Jungkook -- with financials of the deal undisclosed. The first commercial featuring the group will be unveiled Friday, the firm said. The signing of BTS signals a new marketing war among the three major beer makers in Korea – Orient

BHC Co. logged 400.4 billion won ($358 million) in sales in 2020, up 26 percent from the year earlier, placing the company as the No. 2 South Korean fried chicken franchise, the franchise operator said Wednesday. According to BHC Co., which runs the BHC Chicken brand, the company’s operating profit also grew by 33 percent on-year to record 130 billion won in 2020. It is the first time the fried chicken franchise recorded sales surpassing the 400 billion mark, the company said. Among t

Black Yak is launching a rental service providing free hiking shoes for foreigners as part of its “Together Mountain” campaign, in partnership with the Gangbuk-gu Office in Seoul, the Korean outdoor clothing brand said Tuesday. On Tuesday, Black Yak Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Kang Tae-sun and Gangbuk-gu Council Chairman Park Gyeom-su held the opening ceremony of the rental shop, located inside the Black Yak Ui-dong branch near Bukhansan Ui Station on the Ui-Sinseol Line.

South Korean e-commerce giant Coupang is hiring a small number of employees for senior positions in Singapore, a move that has been seen as part of steps to branch out into the Southeast Asian market. The company recently posted several job openings on global recruiting site Linkedin for its office in Singapore including head of retail, head of logistics and head of operations. It is also hiring a senior front-end engineer for its video streaming platform Coupang Play. A Coupang representati

The first Malaysian outlet of CU, the South Korean convenience store chain, has seen more than 11,000 customers in just 10 days since opening, the company said Tuesday. According to BGF Retail, the firm behind the CU chain, an average of 1,000 people have visited the store in Kuala Lumpur daily since it opened on April 1. That is about three times the average number of visitors of CU stores in South Korea, the company added. A typical CU store here is open for 24 hours. But the Malaysian st

Ginseng can help boost the effectiveness of flu vaccines used on mice, and is also helpful in protecting respiratory organs, Korea Ginseng Corp.’s research institute said Monday. According to a study by KGC’s Korea Ginseng Research Institute, ginseng intake increases the protective effect of vaccines compared to when the vaccine is used alone. The Korean ginseng company also cited research dubbed, “Protective Effect of Korean Red Ginseng Extract on the Infections by H1N1 a

Market Kurly’s best price guarantee policy in direct challenge to Coupang and E-mart

Kakao, the South Korean tech giant behind popular messaging app KakaoTalk, is taking steps to acquire mobile shopping app Zigzag, according to local reports Friday. The reported deal could see Kakao buy a controlling stake in the operator of the shopping app -- estimated to be worth about $1 billion -- and create a new subsidiary for a merger. Kakao, however, has not yet confirmed the move, saying it is taking into account “a range of options.”　 The reports came after Kakao, once

Innisfree, a cosmetic brand under Amorepacific, has been forced to clarify its eco-friendly “paper bottle” packaging after a customer’s complaint about plastic usage and a “misleading” label went viral online. In a post on a Facebook group called “No Plastic Shopping,” a customer shared photos of what is inside the package for the brand’s face serum product after cutting the bottle in half. Despite the label reading “Hello, I‘m Paper

French luxury fashion house Christian Dior racked up 104.7 billion won ($93.2 million) in operating profit last year despite the coronavirus pandemic, according to data from the Financial Supervisory Service. Christian Dior Couture Korea, the operator of the brand’s South Korean unit which produces clothes, bags and makeup products, also saw its revenue rise 75.8 percent to 328.5 billion won, while its net profit jumped by 250 percent to 77.7 billion won. The figures buck the trend seen

Starbucks Korea has vowed to stop the use of disposable cups by 2025. As part of its long-term sustainability “Better Together” project, the coffeehouse chain said Tuesday it will roll out reusable cups at all stores across the country and replace single-use cups completely in the next four years. The new eco-friendly cups will be rolled out first at a select few shops during the second half of this year. The reusable cups come with a deposit that will be returned to customers when

Department stores enjoy sales recovery in February, while smaller stores lag behind