Due to Chinese Bottegas?..."Louis Vuitton Considering Withdrawal from Some Downtown Duty-Free Stores in Korea"

Louis Vuitton store (Photo by Asia Economy DB)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Louis Vuitton is reportedly considering withdrawing some of its downtown duty-free store locations in South Korea. Louis Vuitton is a famous French brand, popular alongside Herm?s and Chanel, known as the "big three luxury brands."

According to the UK duty-free distribution specialist publication Moody David Report on the 3rd, Louis Vuitton plans to gradually withdraw most of its downtown duty-free stores worldwide, including in South Korea. It is said that Louis Vuitton is discussing this plan to focus more on airport duty-free stores rather than downtown duty-free stores, which mainly cater to Chinese daigou shoppers.

In this regard, a duty-free industry official stated, "We understand that Louis Vuitton is planning store adjustments not only in South Korea but globally," adding, "However, no specific schedule, method, or scale of store adjustments have been decided or negotiated domestically yet."

Currently, Louis Vuitton has a total of seven stores in domestic downtown duty-free shops, including Lotte Duty Free Myeongdong Main Store and World Tower Store in Seoul, Shinsegae Duty Free Myeongdong Store, Shilla Duty Free Seoul Store, as well as locations in Busan (Lotte Duty Free) and Jeju (Lotte and Shilla Duty Free).

Another official said, "Since the Korean duty-free market is showing signs of revival recently, the schedule and method of store adjustments need to be observed further."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.