Department stores offer wine at discounted prices

Major department stores will offer a huge discount for wine products in November when the nation’s big three players are scheduled to celebrate the anniversary of their foundation, respectively.

The three department stores ― Lotte, Hyundai and Shinsegae ― have launched a fair or event which feature sales at a discount for wine from special vineyards.

Lotte, which kicked off a seven-day wine fair on Friday, will provide consumers with premium wine products with a maximum discount of 90 percent.

All of Lotte branches nationwide are participating in the event and their combined sales target comes to 500,000 bottles.

A noteworthy product is the “Henry Abele Titanic Edition,” known as Champaign served to passengers right before the Titanic disaster 100 years ago.

Lotte will sell 600 bottles of the special edition with the consumer price tag of 120,000 won.

Hyundai will hold a fair selling popular wine totaling 300,000 bottles from France, Chile and the United States at a discount until Nov. 11.

Shinsegae will also offer a discount between 30 and 80 percent for 500,000 bottles of wine until Nov. 6.

Korea’s wine boom peaked in 2008 when $166.5 million worth was imported. However, since the economic downturn, the country’s imports fell by 32.5 percent the following year to $112.45 million. Imports improved moderately last year to $132 million.

Industry people here believe that the wine market is ripe for a rebound. The Italians, however, could prove to be the casualties of the renewed wine wars. Korea’s wine market has been dominated by products from France, Chile and Italy, but the United States could threaten to overtake Italy for third place in the sales hierarchy, market observers said.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)