The Shilla Duty Free

The Shilla Duty Free maintains a top five ranking in our list based on 2022 turnover of KRW5,233.95 billion, which translates as €3,862 million* at 31 December exchange rates, with the business buoyed (as in 2021) by daigou income and online sales.

Downtown duty free revenues accounted for around 84% of the total, and increased +3% year-on-year. Airport revenues climbed by +122% year-on-year, from a low base in 2021, driven by the country’s opening up to inbound and outbound travel from April 2022.

Among key recent developments was the company’s capture of two key ten-year concessions at Incheon International Airport, which began on 1 July. One is a 17-store, 4,258sq m contract covering liquor & tobacco and fragrances & cosmetics. The other involves 12 fashion and luxury stores over some 4,709sq m of space.

Shilla retains high ambitions to continue its overseas expansion, with its network of P&C concessions including Hong Kong International and Changi airports. At the latter, the retailer is rebuilding with store investment and a big launch and promotional calendar as travel returns to Singapore.

A more detailed commentary on Shilla’s performance and prospects appears in our forthcoming Magazine. Click here for our story on Q2 results.

*Note: The figures include the HDC-Shilla duty free joint venture consolidated at 50%. As we present 3Sixty Duty Free as a separate figure in our rankings, Shilla’s 44% shareholding is not reflected in its own sales figure in our rankings. As with Lotte Duty Free and other Korean players the figures presented here include Korean domestic brand sales, which do not feature in the numbers disclosed according to IFRS accounting standards, and which appear on the DART platform where Korean companies report annual performance.