Hyundai Department Store’s Trade Center branch
Wei Liu, a 41-year-old Taiwanese businessman, snapped up 300 million won ($220,000) worth of luxury brand products at Hyundai Department Store’s Trade Center branch in southern Seoul late last month.
He often comes to Korea for business and stays in accommodations near the Convention and Exhibition Center (COEX). During his stay, he enjoys shopping at the department store connected to the trade center.
Hyundai Department Store’s Trade Center has more than 500 foreign VIP customers like Wei with a history of purchasing more than 10 million won at a time.
Thanks to an increase in foreign shoppers, South Korea’s top three department stores posted brisk sales growth in the first four months of this year.
Hyundai Department Store saw a 205% surge in sales in the January-April period from the same period of last year. Shinsegae Department Store and Lotte Department Store logged sales growth of 137% and 60%, respectively.
For Hyundai Department Store’s Trade Center, sales to foreigner customers jumped 13.1% on-year in the January-April period, compared with a 12.1% growth in 2023 and a 4.2% rise in 2022.
It recently expanded the lineup of premium brands popular among foreigners.
“We have never imagined that foreigners accounted for over 10% of sales in a core store where mainly Koreans purchase luxury goods,” said a department store official in Seoul, “It means that foreigners have emerged as a VIP customer group that we need to specially manage and continuously market.”
Hyundai Department Store’a Apgujeong main branch
To attract foreign regulars beyond duty-free items to department store products, Korean department stores have introduced loyalty programs exclusive for foreigners, including reward points. Hyundai Department Store has more than 30,000 foreigners registered to earn its reward points.
Hyundai Department Store Apgujeong is the most visited branch of the department store operator by foreign luxury goods shoppers. It runs makeup and styling beauty classes tailored to foreign customers.
“Foreigners buy a lot of beauty-related products at the Apgujeong branch, surrounded by plastic surgery clinics, said a Hyundai Department Store official.
Luxury beauty and products make up 12.8% of foreign customers’ purchases at the Apgujeong branch, more than twice as much as that of its other branches.
Lotte Department offers AI-powered translation services for 13 languages.
By Ji-Yoon Yang
yang@hankyung.com
Yeonhee Kim edited this article
