High-end fashion brands and home shopping channels are forming unlikely alliances as sales through more traditional routes continue to falter. While department stores have traditionally been the main outlet for high-end fashion brands, such retailers have seen their sales fall for five consecutive months, even as home shopping firms have shown the opposite trend. This, coupled with the operators’ desire to expand their customer base, is bringing high-end fashion brands together with home shoppin

Lotte Group hopes to acquire Italian airport retailer World Duty Free to grow into the world’s No. 2 duty-free shop operator, group officials said Wednesday. According to news reports, the nation’s fifth-largest conglomerate by assets submitted a proposal to acquire a controlling stake in WDF. Lotte Shopping, which operates Lotte Duty Free, has made the offer estimated at 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion) to 4 trillion won, the reports said.  “We are interested in WDF. But it is difficult to confirm

A quasi-government panel on Tuesday designated 54 types of businesses as small- and medium-sized companies, a decision aimed at protecting them from business expansion by conglomerates. The Korean Commission for Corporate Partnership said the new categories this year are stationary retail, tobacco wholesale, rice cakes for rice cake soup, woodchips and rental car service.Of the 77 businesses that were due to be taken off the list, up to 49 industries including coffee bean and tofu production wer

A grandson of Hansol Group founder Lee In-hee was indicted last week for neglecting his compulsory national service, bringing public attention to the latest revelation of draft-dodging attempts by members of the pan-Samsung dynasty. Lee In-hee is the eldest daughter of the late Samsung Group founder Lee Byung-chull and older sister of Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee. Hansol Group is about the 40th-largest business group in Korea by assets.According to the prosecutors, the 24-year-old grandson surna

Homeplus, the nation’s second-largest supermarket chain, is in talks with furniture maker Hanssem to set up shop-in-shop at its outlets, the retailer said on Monday.If the deal is finalized, Hanssem will be the first shop-in-shop at Homeplus to sell home furnishing products such as household linen, lights and sofa. Hanssem’s flagship store in western Seoul. (Hanssem)“We are discussing a potential tie-up but it’s just one of the many discussions we’re having with other companies, and nothing has

South Korean budget makeup brands The Face Shop and Innisfree are establishing a solid foothold in the low-cost cosmetics market, shrugging off competition from the once-dominant Missha.The Face Shop, acquired by LG Household and Healthcare in 2009, held on to the top spot by posting 610.1 billion won ($554.4 million) in sales and 69 billion won in operating profit last year. Cosmetics giant AmorePacific’s Innisfree followed next, recording 456.7 billion won in sales and 76.5 billion won in oper

South Korean cosmetics giant AmorePacific is banking on its fragrance business as a way to secure a solid foothold in the U.S. beauty market.AmorePacific said Monday that its fragrance brand Annick Goutal will open a second store, a 65-square-meter unit at 955 Madison Avenue in New York, this month. The opening follows the flagship outlet on Bleecker Street in New York that opened last summer.Annick Goutal, originally a French perfume house, was acquired by AmorePacific in 2011. The brand sells

Lotte Group, the country’s fifth-largest conglomerate, announced Sunday that it would invest a record 7.5 trillion won ($6.8 billion) in the retail, tourism and construction sectors.The investment plan expanded about 31.5 percent from 5.7 trillion won last year.“Despite the worsening business environment, we shouldn’t hold back on investments (to seek growth),” Lotte Group chairman Shin Dong-bin was reported as saying in a recent executives’ meeting. “We have to build momentum for growth, while

A court ruled Thursday in favor of unionized workers at Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world’s largest shipbuilder, in an “ordinary wage” lawsuit. In its ruling, the Ulsan District Court said that the company should calculate regular bonuses it paid to workers as base pay.In 2010, 10 union members of the company filed a lawsuit, demanding bonuses and other benefits be considered “ordinary pay,” which is used to calculate a range of benefits, from overtime payments to annual raises.The shipbuilder

The court’s ruling on the “nut rage” case sent shockwaves through Korean Air, which had reportedly hoped for a suspended jail term for its heiress and former vice president Cho Hyun-ah.The nation’s largest full-service carrier avoided officially responding to the court’s sentencing of Cho to one year in prison. “We have nothing to say on the verdict,” a company official was quoted as saying.Another official said the company would not issue a statement on the ruling.According to Yonhap, a somber

Major South Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, plan to invest a total of 34.4 trillion won ($31.5 billion) in their facilities this year, government officials said Wednesday.In a meeting with top executives of 16 key conglomerates, Industry Minister Yoon Sang-jick said the government would provide full support for their investment and help push M&A deals.The meeting was attended by representatives from Samsung Electronics, Samsung Display, Hyundai Motor, Hyund

Korea DMC, the operator of a Chinese-language Korean Wave portal, said Tuesday that it aimed to reach 1 million hits in daily traffic by the end of the year.The company launched Korea Top 10 (www.koreatop10.com), a platform offering information related to South Korea and shopping for beauty products and tourist, wedding and medical services.“We provide customized services to Chinese people who are seeking information and products they cannot find elsewhere,” Korea DMC CEO Sim Song-hak said at a

Hotel Shilla plans to build a hotel in Xian ― a cultural, industrial and educational center in northwest China ― in its latest move to expand its business in the country, the company said.It is planning to sign a consignment management agreement with a local company to run a hotel business, it said on Monday. The Samsung Group affiliate is currently operating a hotel under its brand in Suzhou, eastern China. Hotel Shilla CEO Lee Boo-jin. (Yonhap)“We do not know whether it’s going to be a busines

Green Cross, a leading South Korean pharmaceutical company, sparked rumors of a hostile takeover of rival Ildong Pharmaceutical when it vowed to interfere in the selection of the latter’s board members on Monday.As the second-largest shareholder of Ildong, the company said it has the right to choose two of the 10 board members in the next shareholders meeting. Three of the 10, including Ildong chairman Lee Jung-chi, end their terms next month.Early in January last year, the takeover rumor erupte

Doosan Infracore, the second-largest affiliate of Doosan Group, has begun a restructuring program to improve its financial health, the group confirmed on Friday. Doosan Infracore construction vehicles. (Doosan Infracore)The country’s 12th-largest conglomerate by assets said Doosan Infracore would cut about 100 jobs through an early-retirement program. The early-retirement offer was given to all 3,200 Doosan Infracore employees, including research and development staff.The downsizing at the const

POSCO, the world’s third-largest steelmaker, said on Thursday it aimed to achieve consolidated sales of 67.4 trillion won ($61. 8 billion) this year by further strengthening its core business.It will divest its noncore assets, partly by selling its stakes in its affiliates.The steelmaker said in a meeting with its investors that it would continue its restructuring efforts and concentrate on fortifying its steel business to gain sales of about 30 trillion won. The company will invest only about 4

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, the world’s second-largest shipbuilder, is expected to focus on fuel-saving liquefied natural gas carriers as a way to boost its sales this year. A Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering LNG carrier. (DSME)DSME said on Wednesday that it had signed a $100 million contract to build an LNG carrier. It has now signed five deals this year, worth about $1 billion in total. The company declined to reveal the name of its partner.It remains to be seen whether D

Organica, a Korean premium organic whole food company, has won this year’s International Forum Design Award for the packaging section, the company said Tuesday.A panel of 53 experts chose Organica’s packaging of rice and mixed grain lineup, “Season to Season,” which was co-designed by Herald Design Core and advertising firm Big Ant International.“Our competitiveness in design has been recognized through this meaningful award. This will serve as an opportunity for us to continue to differentiate

This year will be pivotal for several chaebol, including Shinsegae Group, Korea’s 13th-largest conglomerate by assets, and its de facto leader Chung Yong-jin. Chung Yong-jinHaving experienced bitter failure in China, the son of Shinsegae chairwoman Lee Myeong-hee and nephew of Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee is set to enter what may be the next gold mine ― Southeast Asia. “After having actually done business there, I have to admit that the Chinese market wasn’t easy,” Chung told reporters on

Moody’s Investors Service said Monday that Hyundai Steel’s robust operating results for 2014 proved a stable outlook.“Hyundai Steel’s reported operating income for the full year ended Dec. 31, 2014, doubled year-on-year, resulting in a material improvement in its financial leverage,” said Chris Park, Moody’s senior vice president.“Moody’s had expected in December 2014 that Hyundai Steel would record strong full-year results. We therefore changed the outlook on the company’s ratings to stable fro