Shinsegae opens new duty-free shop in central Seoul with 600 brands

South Korea’s retail giant Shinsegae Group opened its duty free outlet on Wednesday in downtown Seoul, about six months upon successfully winning a license on a duty -free retail business after repeated failed attempts over the last two decades. Shinsegae Duty Free shop is located in Shinsegae Group’s flagship department store in Myeong-dong, one of the most bustling shopping and tourist streets in central Seoul.

According to Shinsegae, its duty-free stores occupy floors 8-12 at Shinsegae Department Store with a sales area of 13,884 square meters. Shinsegae pledged to turn the downtown area as world-class tourist attractions by making its duty-free outlet a Korea’s touristic landmark. The company said Shinsegae Duty Free at Myeong-dong is offering special areas dedicated for Korean pop culture and worldly renowned artworks as well as top international brands.

Shoppers will find about 600 brands from all over the world, including Gucci, Saint Laurent and Bottega Veneta, at Shinsegae’s tax-exempt outlet. Also, about 70 luxury wrist watch labels such as Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Omega opened their shops at the store, while four other high-end jewelry brands Cartier, Bulgari, Tiffany & Co. and Van Cleef & Arpels are to join the others in the second half of this year.

A series of luxury brands also plan to make their first debut in the Korean duty free market - Moncler, J.Lindeberg, Emporio Armani and MCM’s sunglass collection. The famous fashion labels Chanel, Hermes and Louis Vuitton are in discussion with the duty free retailer to open corners at the new duty-free shop, aiming for the fall/winter 2016 season. In addition, more than 200 cosmetic brands joined the tax-free outlet, according to the company.

To ensure foreign customers’ return, it reserved a special venue for foreign tourists at the new duty free store. There are separate zones for Korean cosmetic brands, as well as movie and animation character shops. Korea’s traditional craftworks by artisans will also be available to lure foreign visitors.

In November last year when the group was granted a license to operate duty free shop, Shinsegae said it aimed to rake in 1.5 trillion won ($1.26 billion) in sales from its duty-free shop operations within the first year of opening and 10 trillion won in five years by 2020.

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