Lotte, Shilla to begin selling duty-free products in stores and online

Lotte and Shilla will begin selling duty-free products locally next week via local retail channels and online sales platforms.

The government temporarily permitted such transactions to help the sector with the pandemic disrupting air travel.

In April, the combined sale of duty-free stores slumped below the one trillion-won mark for the first time in four years.

Industry-leading Lotte Duty-Free plans to sell at eight department stores and discount malls while Shilla Duty-Free will open an online channel next week to handle domestic sales.

No. 3 player Shinsegae International Inc. sold duty-free luxury items on its online shopping mall early this month.

South Korea's customs office estimated that local duty-free operators could secure around 160 billion won with the eased rule.

However, products with short shelf lives, namely food, liquor, cosmetics, and perfume, will be excluded from the list to be sold at retail channels.