SOUTH KOREA. Korean hotel-to-shopping powerhouse The Shilla posted a +7% year-on-year increase (+3.5% quarter-on-quarter) in travel retail revenues to KWR884.6 billion (US$600.9 million) for the first quarter of 2026.

Encouragingly, the travel retail business moved back into the black for the quarter with a modest KRW12.2 billion (US$8.3 million) operating profit compared with a KRW5 billion (US$3.4 million) loss in the comparative quarter last year.

This represented the division’s first quarterly operating profit since Q2 2024.

Revenue in downtown duty-free increased +11.7% year-on-year to KRW353.1 billion (US$239.9 million) while airports and other business saw a +4% rise to KRW531.5 billion (US$361.1 million).

Commenting on its travel retail outlook, The Shilla said it will focus on profitability recovery in response to changes in the internal and external environment and the wider travel retail market.