Lotte Duty Free reopens at Seoul Gimpo alongside liquor & tobacco newcomer City Plus

SOUTH KOREA. Lotte Duty Free reopened at Seoul Gimpo Airport on 13 August after being the sole bidder for the DF1 cosmetics & fragrances space in the fourth re-run of a tender that until then had failed to attract any bids. It is also offering a selection of fashion, watches, accessories, souvenirs and food (see floor plan below).

Both incumbents, Lotte Duty Free (liquor & tobacco) and The Shilla Duty Free (mainly cosmetics & fragrances) had opted not to bid in earlier rounds, citing overly onerous minimum annual guarantees.

Lotte gimpoLotte Duty Free formerly operated out of the DF1 space. That contract, for liquor & tobacco, has been awarded to small and medium enterprise (SME) City Plus. Shilla chose to exit the airport on financial grounds.

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A floorplan of Lotte Duty Free’s diverse beauty to fashion to food offer at Gimpo Airport

Lotte Duty Free CEO Jang Sun-wook commented: “We will make our best efforts to succeed in this duty free business in Gimpo Airport, a representative gateway of Korea, based on our sense of responsibility as the market leader and the operational competence we have built up over the years.”

City Plus was awarded a single 924sq m concession at Incheon International Airport last year. The retailer announced in June this year that it had signed K-Pop star Kim Tae Woo as the face of its City Duty Free brand. The company also operates a duty free shop at Cheong Joo Airport and plans to open at Incheon Seaport. Last year it applied unsuccessfully for one of the new downtown duty free licences in Seoul. Its major shareholder is Topsolar Co, an energy recycling specialist anxious to diversify.

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City Plus is one of several newcomers to a fast-proliferating Korean duty free market
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City Plus is also opening a store at Incheon Seaport

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