South Korea’s largest duty-free shop for sale

Gavin Lipsith

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As Incheon International airport prepares its duty-free tender, local media reports suggest that the SKM Duty Free shop in downtown Seoul is to be sold

In a tantalising preview to Seoul Incheon airport’s duty-free tender—expected this month—KTB Network has announced that it will sell a 96% stake in its SKM Duty Free Shop at the COEX Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Seoul. The 46,000sq ft (4,275sq m) outlet is one of the largest retail areas in Seoul, and the country’s largest duty-free store.

Local reports claimed that venture capital firm KTB is preparing to sell the operation in southern Seoul due to lagging sales. Business website Joins.com suggested that it is currently one of the worst-performing duty-free stores in the country.

The same report quoted a duty-free industry source as saying that the South Korean duty-free market is worth W900bn ($959m) annually and has been growing by more than 15% a year.