BAT Rothmans, the Korean business arm of British American Tobacco, is ramping up its recycling campaign in Korea to encourage people not to throw away used Glo devices, the company said Wednesday. The Seoul office of the London-based tobacco company said it has installed return bins for Glo tobacco heating devices at 50 convenience stores in cities nationwide with heavy foot traffic, with more to be added in the coming year. Customers can go to either a 7-Eleven, CU or GS25 convenience store

Virtual humans are everywhere: They promote products on social media, appear on billboard ads and now host infomercial shows. Lotte Home Shopping said Tuesday its virtual model Lucy will make her television debut as a show host on Wednesday for a special Christmas broadcast. Lucy is scheduled to appear in a teaser clip of the program and will introduce products offered on sale. This will be the first time the public gets to hear her voice, the infomercial channel said. Boasting 70,000 fol

Experts suggest French luxury retailer may be first domino to fall

Meat replacement projected to take up 60% of global protein market by 2040

Customer demand for wine and Korean beef has shown rapid increase this year, as an alternative to dining outside, said the local discount chain E-mart on Sunday. The discount retailer tracked the changes in the type of products sold from 2019 to November this year. According to the store’s data, wine leaped from 10th place in 2019 to sixth in 2021, with sales jumping by 32 percent from 2019.  More Korean consumers have started venturing into higher-priced wines compared to the sta

South Korean beauty giant Amorepacific is mulling drastically reducing the number of its Chinese stores amid faltering sales, while also ramping up efforts to expand its luxury portfolio and online sales. President Kim Seung-hwan reportedly hinted at a strategic shift in the company’s China business in a meeting with local analysts this week. As of 2019, Amorepacific operated 1,280 stores of five budget brands -- Hera, IOPE, Mamonde, Etude and Laneige -- in China. In 2020 that number fe

Trade Week 2021 ended its four-day run on Friday, connecting local small and medium sized enterprises with foreign buyers and inviting experts to share insights on globalization strategies. Organized by the Seoul Business Agency, the event offered various business opportunities for participating small enterprises through programs such as online business matching with foreign buyers, live commerce sessions and product launch events. Local daily necessities maker CM Company inked a deal with

This year will be the first time Choi Kyung-mi ordered a cake for Christmas. The freelance writer placed an order for a 38,000 won chocolate vegan cake she planned on sharing with friends and family at a party to celebrate the end of the year.  She was one of the lucky ones: Cakes have already been selling out at bakeries across the country. Tous Les Jours bakery franchise operator CJ Foodville said it has seen an explosive growth in reservations for its Christmas cakes this year, as ma

Health and beauty store chain CJ Olive Young plans to go beyond brick-and-mortar retail and transform itself into an “omnichannel platform” that connects e-commerce with offline retail, ahead of its plans to go public next year. “No one inside the company defines Olive Young as a health and beauty store. We see our brand as an omnichannel platform,” Olive Young CEO Koo Chang-geun said at a press event at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on Friday. The renewed push to

Business leaders in the cosmetics and beauty industry shared their thoughts on the growth potential of K-beauty on Thursday, at Trade Week 2021, a four-day global conference organized by the Seoul Business Agency to offer support for small and medium-sized enterprises in Seoul.  L’Oreal’s Chief Digital Officer Lee Seon-young kicked off the seminar, explaining how digitalization is changing the company’s business strategy. “We do not think the rise in online busine

Korea’s No. 1 milk producer by market share, Seoul Dairy Cooperative is under fire for objectifying women and portraying voyeurism in its latest video advertisement for its organic milk products. The 52-second video shows people, most of whom are presumably women, dressed in white drinking water from a stream and relaxing in a green meadow somewhere in Gangwon Province.  In the next scene, a man quietly approaches with a video camera from the cover of trees. He steps on a branch an

Samsonite’s Asia head says travel will be shorter, anticipates boom in antimicrobial luggage

A bar in Busan has declared itself a “No Professor Zone” to create a friendlier environment for student customers. When someone took a picture of the announcement and shared it in a tweet, it went viral. “We profusely apologize. For other customers to enjoy themselves with ease, we are asking full-time professors to refrain from entering our place,” the poster reads. The message appears to target scholars at Pusan National University, which is located near the venue.

Cosmetic store workers of Chanel Korea said Tuesday they would walk off from their jobs for an indefinite period from Dec. 17 if the French luxury brand fails to pay overdue wages and take steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.  Union members representing 390 store workers at 85 cosmetics boutiques of Chanel held a press conference Tuesday in front of the firm’s office in Jung-gu, central Seoul.  The members are part of the Korea Confederation of Trade Unions, a

Coffee chains, food companies and the milk industry are seeing oat milk as a new alternative to dairy, as the industry tries to appeal to a growing number of health-conscious consumers and the budding vegan trend in South Korea. While oat milk is considered a common alternative to typical dairy milk in countries like the United States and Europe, the drink is relatively new here in Korea.  Leading the local oat milk trend here is, ironically, the milk industry.  In a country where