Today's Date:      Tuesday, March 27, 2012

1. MARKETING ISSUES

Lotte Shopping to Continue an Aggressive Expansion … Plans to Add 80 Supermarkets and 32 Hypermarket Stores This Year [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2012032340511&sid=010405&nid=000&ltype=1

Summary: Lotte Shopping Co., a leading retail company in Korea, reported in its IR seminar on March 23 that it will add a large number of new stores this year.  The number of new stores that Lotte Shopping plans to open is 80 supermarkets, 32 hypermarket stores (including 25 in foreign markets), and 4 department stores. 

Basso, A Napa Valley Premium Red Wine Selected for the Nuclear Summit Dinner [Korean, OSY]

http://www.yonhapnews.co.kr/seoulnss/2012/03/23/4801000000AKR20120323041300003.HTML?template=5568

Summary: Nara Cellar, a leading importer of premium wine, announced that Basso, a Napa valley premium red wine it imports, has been selected as the official wine at the Seoul Nuclear Summit dinner on March 26.

Lotte Shopping Joins Internet Shopping Mall Business Dedicated to Luxury Goods [Korean, OSY]

http://news.donga.com/Economy/Market/3/0108/20120326/45066824/1

Summary: Lotte Shopping, a leading retail company in Korea, announced launching of a new Internet shopping mall that exclusively sells luxury goods such as premium fashion brands, yachts, and antiques.  Official name of the on-line shopping mall is elLOTTE (www.ellotte.co.kr), and the site will start operation on March 30.  Hyundai Home Shopping, another leading retail company, launched ‘Luxury H’ section within its Internet  shopping mall, www.hmall.com, that exclusively offers products from 150 luxury brands earlier this month (March 20).  It is likely that more retail companies will join the internet shopping business targeting the luxury goods.

aT Pressures Food Processors to Buy the Sugar It Imported Despite the Quality Problem [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2012032677761&sid=01012014&nid=000&ltype=1

Summary: It is reported that the direct import project on raw sugar that Korea Agro-Fishery Marketing Corporation (aT, under the Ministry of Ag.) is carrying out under the objective of lowering the sugar price in the market has met an obstacle due to a quality issue.  According to industry comments, much of the sugar imported by aT has not found customers as the quality was not satisfactory despite lower price (about 15 percent lower than local processors’ products).  The rumor has it that aT has been pressuring large scale food processors to buy the sugar.

2. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES

Self-sufficient ranches, farms to be built [English, CSY]

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2012/03/123_107489.html

Summary: A new concept of ranches in order to diversify the government’s cash revenue as well as procure energy and fertilizer independently using an eco-friendly method is in the works.   The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MIFAFF) said Thursday that it had approved the program of generating energy and profit from animal waste.  ``A firm in North Jeolla Province is set to complete its facilities to make electricity and fertilizer from pigs and cow excretion in June. It will be enough energy to power around 700 households,’’ MIFAFF official Seo Jeong-woo said.  ``They have to sell the electricity to Korea Electric Power Corp. under the current regulations. In the future, they will also be able to use it themselves, creating a self-sufficient farm. The MIFAFF has carried out three pilot projects over the past couple of years in the Jeolla Provinces and Jeju Island and we are presently seeing the first success case,’’ Seo said.