SOUTH KOREA. Obligation-cost-free retail income nationwide (excluding inflight retail) slumped by -42.5% month-on-month and -16.1% yr-on-calendar year in February to KRW915.2 billion (US$680 million). Shopper figures fell by -5.3% month-on-thirty day period but rose, pertinently, by +54.1% to to 2,135,299.
The fall was driven by new laws launched on 1 February that control reseller action. The dramatic influence can be most effective guaged from the respective downtown duty-absolutely free sales for January and February as nicely as the -50.1% month-on-month collapse in income to foreigners to KRW663.3 billion (US$492.7 million).
Downtown responsibility-free of charge revenue – pushed nearly solely in latest yrs by diagou reselling into China – fell -48.9% thirty day period-on-thirty day period to KRW694.3 billion (US$515.7 million).
“I expect the sector to settle down in coming months with daigou business steadily declining. Lots of persons within the field hope that team vacationer numbers from China will improve markedly from April,” a senior Korean travel retail govt instructed The Moodie Davitt Report.
“We are entering a kind of new regular, i.e. serious vacation retail as a substitute of remaining the wholesale centre of the location.” ✈
