SOUTH KOREA. Lotte Duty Free is partnering with Lotte Homeshopping’s mobile TV channel from 8:00pm this evening in a sale of duty free* items to Korean customers who can purchase without departing the country.
[*In an important clarification, a company spokesman told The Moodie Davitt Report that as relevant taxes/duties have been absorbed by Lotte Duty Free, the products are “technically no longer ‘duty free’.]
Lotte Duty Free said that it is the first travel retailer to collaborate with a home shopping platform to sell products.
Shoppers will be able to buy a range of Bally wallets and Tory Burch and Vivienne Westwood bags at up to -45% off.
The travel retailer announced: “All products sold on this day are 100% genuine imported by Lotte Duty Free and are duty free items that customers can purchase without having to leave the country.”
As reported, Korea Customs Service (KCS) introduced a temporary scheme in mid-2020 to assist the country’s embattled travel retailers, whose revenues were severely hit by the pandemic-related slump in inbound and outbound travel.
The scheme allowed the sale of unsold duty free inventory (with relevant taxes and duties imposed) through local channels such as ecommerce, department stores, outlets and other platforms.
Lotte Duty Free said today that it plans to expand distribution channels for ‘duty free’ goods through “domestic customs clearance” in an ongoing partnership with Lotte affiliates such as Lotte On, Lotte Home Shopping, and 7-Eleven. This will allow Korean customers to purchase duty free products conveniently, the company commented.
Following the collaboration between Lotte On and Lotte Homeshopping, for example, an exclusive store will be opened on the 7-Eleven APP in April.
Lotte Duty Free has also opened a dedicated Lotte Duty Free shop at Lotte ON. This offers a range of products so that customers who are unfamiliar with domestic customs clearance duty free can purchase luxury goods at reasonable prices compared to department stores, the retailer said.
In 2020, Lotte Duty Free also opened LUXEMALL – an online mall exclusively dedicated to selling excess duty free products to local non-travelling customers. Currently the platform is offering 40,000 products from 85 brands.
Park Seong-hoon, Head of Lotte Duty Free’s Product Division 2, said, “We are preparing this collaboration broadcast with Lotte Home Shopping so that more customers can more customers can purchase luxury goods at reasonable prices.”
