Shinsegae(004170) department store said on the 13th that foreign customer sales in the first half of this year rose 120% from a year earlier to 580 billion won. This is the highest half-year performance on record.
Given that annual foreign customer sales were about 650 billion won last year, it achieved about 90% of last year's performance in just the first half. If the trend continues, it is expected to reach 1 trillion won in annual foreign customer sales for the first time.
Shinsegae Department Store said foreign customers responded well thanks to its competitive strength in luxury brands, cultural content created in collaboration with K-pop artists and the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), and the expansion of global payment services.
The nationalities of foreign customers are also diversifying. The share of Chinese customers, which accounted for 77.5% of foreign sales in 2019, fell to 48.5% in the first half of this year. By contrast, the United States rose from 1.1% to 19.1%, and other Asian countries such as Southeast Asia expanded from 4.4% to 14.9%.
Purchases have broadened beyond luxury goods to K-fashion, K-beauty, and food and beverage (F&B). In the first half, foreign customer sales in luxury goods increased 129.3% from a year earlier, while categories such as men's fashion (110.0%), women's fashion (89.4%), cosmetics (87.3%), and F&B (62.9%) also grew.
Membership for foreigners operated by Shinsegae Department Store has surpassed 300,000 members from about 120 countries. It is seen as raising customer satisfaction by strengthening shopping discounts, benefits, and convenience services, while steadily increasing repeat visits through data-based targeted marketing.
By store, the main branch is drawing foreign demand with Myeong-dong's commercial district and K-pop content at Shinsegae Square. The Gangnam branch has established itself as a store visited by customers from about 120 countries, based on Han River tourism infrastructure and food content such as "House of Shinsegae" and "Sweet Park." The Centum City branch, helped by an increase in cruise tourists at Busan Port, saw first-half foreign customer sales jump 230% from a year earlier, recording the highest growth rate among major stores.
Shinsegae Department Store plans to expand collaborations in the second half with the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), the Seoul Tourism Organization, and the Visit Korea Committee, and to strengthen tourism marketing targeting new markets such as the Americas, Europe, and Taiwan. It also plans to actively attract foreign visitors by expanding collaborations with global payment platforms such as UnionPay, Alipay, LINE Pay, and JCB, and by running country-specific promotions.
Park Ju-hyeong, Shinsegae's CEO, said, "Shinsegae Department Store has established itself as a global tourism destination where visitors can experience K-shopping, K-gastronomy, and K-content all in one place," adding, "We will continue the status of the K-shopping landmark through differentiated store competitiveness and brand differentiation."