Shilla Duty Free, the airport duty-free retailer under Hotel Shilla, said Wednesday that it posted record-high sales of 1.14 trillion won ($1 billion) in the first quarter of this year.
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| A Shilla Duty Free store in Phuket, Thailand. Hotel Shilla |
Shilla Duty Free earned 47.6 billion won in operating profit in the first quarter, mainly due to an increase in sales at its overseas duty-free shops.
The company recorded 600 billion won of sales last year. It expects sales to hit 1 trillion won this year.
In 2013, Shilla Duty Free opened its first overseas duty-free shop at Singapore’s Changi Airport. In December last year, the company opened its fifth overseas outlet at Hong Kong International Airport, becoming the first to manage duty-free stores in the three largest airports in Asia — Incheon, Singapore and Hong Kong. It also has outlets at the airports in Macao, Phuket and Tokyo.
“Positive sales figures from our duty-free shops abroad are based on our years of experience and expertise in operations. We will continue to expand our business portfolio by opening in other cities,” said a Shilla Duty Free official.
By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)
