"Southeast Asia's Big Spenders Arrive"... Galleria Department Store Luxury Hall, Foreign Sales Set 'New Record' Streak

Foreign Sales Hit Record High Through February This Year
Up 166% Compared to Same Period Last Year... Increase in Southeast Asian Customers Including Thailand
"Foreign Sales Expected to Set New Annual Record This Year"

Galleria Department Store announced on the 21st that foreign sales at its Seoul luxury store have reached an all-time high this year.

According to Galleria Department Store's data, foreign sales at the luxury store recorded 10 billion KRW and 7.5 billion KRW in January and February, respectively. This represents a 166% increase compared to the same period last year, marking the highest cumulative sales for February on record.

Galleria Luxury Hall, Record High Sales from Foreign Customers.
[Photo by Galleria Department Store]

A representative from Hanwha Galleria stated, "In the fourth quarter of last year, foreign sales reached 26 billion KRW, setting a record for the highest quarterly sales ever. This figure surpasses the previous peak in 2019 when foreign sales were at their highest. Following the first breakthrough of 10 billion KRW in October last year, if this trend continues, we can expect to set a new record this year."

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign sales accounted for 15% of the luxury store's total sales, but during the pandemic, domestic tourism demand declined, causing the share to drop to 1%. Since then, with the endemic phase (periodic outbreaks of infectious diseases) and strengthened marketing targeting foreign customers, the sales share has recovered to over 10% this year.

The nationalities of foreign customers ranked in order as China, Thailand, and the United States, with luxury goods being the most purchased items. Galleria Department Store emphasized that, unlike before, the continuous increase in Southeast Asian customers such as those from Thailand is noteworthy.

Along with foreign sales, the proportion of VIP customer sales has also increased, leading Galleria to expect a recovery in luxury store sales compared to last year. VIP customer sales at the luxury store in January and February this year grew by 12% compared to the same period last year.

Luxury content for VIP customers is also being enhanced. Galleria has launched a new VVIP service program called 'THE PSR' for 'PSR customers,' VIP customers who purchase over 100 million KRW annually. The luxury watch brand Patek Philippe plans to open a store in June with double the floor space compared to its previous store, and the luxury store's East building basement level 1 idle space has been converted into retail space to increase luxury watch stores.

Specialized spaces for younger customers are also being prepared. Following the purchase of land and buildings worth approximately 90 billion KRW near the luxury store in May last year, Galleria additionally acquired surrounding buildings for 22.5 billion KRW in January this year. A Hanwha Galleria representative explained, "We are considering creating specialized spaces that can captivate the 20s and 30s age group."

Meanwhile, the luxury store West will continue to attract popup stores of domestic designer brands. The food hall 'Gourmet 494,' which has undergone renovations, plans to sequentially open 10 brands starting next month. Among these, eight brands will be introduced for the first time in the department store industry.

A Hanwha Galleria representative said, "Through expanding foreign customers, VIP marketing, strengthening the latest trend popups, and discovering popular food and beverage (F&B) brands, we will significantly enhance customer satisfaction along with performance recovery this year."

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