Today's Date:  Wednesday, September 05, 2012

1. MARKETING ISSUES

Sales of Japanese Beer Surge in Hypermarket Stores [Korean, OSY]

http://www.hankyung.com/news/app/newsview.php?aid=2012090375461

Summary: It is reported that sales of imported beer from Japan are on a rapid increase in large scale grocery stores.  According to Emart, sales of Japanese beer increased 101 percent through August this year compared to the same period of last year.  Lotte Mart also reported a similar sales growth of Japanese beer.  Out of the Japanese beer fever, Asahi Beer, imported from Japan, has stepped to the leading imported beer in Korea since last year.

Fair Trade Committee Rules that Lotte Should Not Barricade Local Shoppers from Shopping Gymboree On-line [Korean, OSY]

http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=101&oid=020&aid=0002364434

Summary: Korean consumers are again allowed to place orders directly to Gymboree.com for Gymboree clothes.  Lotte Shopping Co., a leading retail company in Korea who has an exclusive distribution right for Gymboree branded products in Korea, has been blocking local consumers from accessing Gymboree USA’s on-line store.  However, Fair Trade Committee ruled recently that Lotte should not interfere with parallel importation channels used by local consumers for Gymboree products.  As a result, Lotte Shopping announced on August 27 that it removed the access barricade on Gymboree USA on-line store.

2. OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ISSUES

‘Vege-Tech’ Farm in Ilsan Produces Green Vegetables 365 Days a Year Without Land and Sun Light [Korean, OSY]

http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=sec&sid1=102&oid=020&aid=0002364517

Napa Valley vineyard creates ‘Dokdo Wine’

http://view.koreaherald.com/kh/view.php?ud=20120830001022&cpv=0

Shinsegae Department Store will launch a special wine product, dubbed “Dokdo Wine,” this Friday.
Korean-American dentist Ahn Jae-hyun, who is also founder of the “Dokdo Winery,” has been producing the wine in Napa Valley, United States. The wine is labeled “799-805,” named after Korea’s easternmost Dokdo islets’ postal code.As his individual effort to spread the historial fact that Dokdo belongs to Korea and not Japan, Ahn is donating some of the profits from sales of wine to organizations campaigning Korea’s sovereignty over the islets.Earlier, Dokdo Wine was released in the U.S. market in mid-November. The Dokdo Winery, established in 2007, produces about 20,000 bottles per year.According to its website, the new wine was created to draw people away from the controversial debate over which country ― Korea or Japan ― owns the rocky islets, and to bring people back to the original delicacy and beauty of the island itself.“Instead of appreciating the beauty of Dokdo, the world has been too busy fighting over it. The island should not be fought over; it should be shared,” it said.The website also specified that “we were inspired by this ideal while creating the wine. We wanted to create something that represented Dokdo and our passion toward it.”Shinsegae’s headquarters in downtown Seoul will offer a 30 percent discount for the product until Sept. 2. The department store’s Gangnam and Gyeonggi branches will follow suit unit Sept. 4. Prices range between 139,000 won and 210,000 won per bottle depending on the vintage.