Shinsegae opened its second city center duty-free store in Seoul at Express Bus Terminal in Gangnam on Wednesday.
The new five-story shopping space seeks to attract young and rich foreign tourists interested in Korean cosmetics and fashion. Thirty-six percent of the 13,570-square-meter space has been allotted to Korean brands.
Inside the store, there is a space called Studio S where social media influencers can use microphones and lights for live broadcasting and filming. On the store’s launch day, Chinese online stars, often referred to as Wang Hongs, crowded the complex.
(Video taken by Kim Da-sol, edited by Lim Jeong-yeo /The Korea Herald)
The store is not without international luxury brands. It is the first duty-free store in the world to offer Manolo Blahnik and the first duty-free store in Korea to have Italian women’s shoes brand Sergio Rossi.
A Shinsegae official said the store put emphasis on high-end shoes, accessories and watches.
Other shops include Gucci, Saint Lauren, Chloe, Marc Jacobs, Kenzo and others. By September, some 350 shops will be housed in the Gangnam store. Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Hermes have not entered this store but Shinsegae is reportedly continuing to speak with the luxury brands.
(Yonhap)
(Yonhap)
(Yonhap)
Each floor of Shinsegae’s Gangnam duty-free store is connected to the original Shinsegae Department Store, and there is a giant food court called Famille Station. It’s also close to JW Marriott Hotel Seoul.
Shinsegae anticipates sales revenue of 500 billion won ($441 million) for the first year of business. Its first in-city duty-free store in Myeong-dong annually records sales of 1.8 trillion won.
Shingsegae DF Global is the third-largest duty-free operator in Korea, following Lotte and Shilla in terms of market share.
