From beer to pens, S.Koreans boycott Japanese brands as diplomatic row intensifies

Hanatour Service

19/07/2019 04:30

* South Koreans boycott Japanese goods after Tokyo's export
curbs
    * Local supermarkets remove Japanese products from shelves
    * Beer sales, travel take most of the hit 

    By Joori Roh
    SEOUL, July 19 (Reuters) - As soon as supermarket manager
Cho Min-hyuk got to work the day after Tokyo imposed curbs on
exports to South Korea, he pulled all Japanese products off the
shelves.
    It was Cho's way of taking a stand against Japan in a
quickly worsening political and economic dispute between the two
east Asian neighbours. 
    Such anger has prompted a widespread boycott of Japanese
products and services, from beer to clothes and travel,
disrupting businesses in what was already the worst economic
climate for South Korea in a decade.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N23X35V
    Cho, who manages a 1,500 square metre Purunemart supermarket
in Seoul, is taking the hit voluntarily. Over 200 other
supermarkets and grocery stores are doing the same, according to
Korea Mart Association, a trade group representing them.
    "Japan putting pressure on South Korea through export curbs,
showing no regret over its past wrongdoings, is completely
unacceptable," said Cho, adding the 10-15% drop in sales he is
already facing won't change his mind. 
    Diplomatic tensions intensified since a South Korean court
last year ordered Japanese companies to compensate Koreans who
were forced to work for Japanese occupiers during World War Two.
 On July 4, in apparent retaliation, Japan restricted exports of
high-tech materials to South Korea, but denied the move was
related to the compensation issue. Tokyo cited "inadequate
management" of sensitive exports, with Japanese media reporting
some items ended up in North Korea. Seoul has refuted that.
    
    BEER, CLOTHES, HOLIDAYS
    Seoul has resisted taking any countermeasures, saying it
would raise the dispute with the World Trade Organisation. But
Koreans are taking matters into their own hands, with beer
apparently an easy target.
    The country's top two convenience stores CU and GS25, run by
BGF Retail  282330.KS  and GS Retail  007070.KS , told Reuters
sales of Japanese beer plunged 21.5% and 24.2%, respectively, in
the first two weeks of July from the previous two-week period.
E-Mart  139480.KS  reported a 24.6% fall.
    Hongcheon Culture Foundation, a beer festival organiser,
told Reuters it cancelled an order of 1.2 tonnes of Kirin beer
even as at last year's edition the Japanese brand accounted for
a tenth of revenues.
    South Korea buys 61% of Japan's beer exports, spending 7.9
billion yen ($73.13 million) in 2018. Asahi Super Dry is the
most popular imported brand, with sales tripling in the past
five years, according to Euromonitor.
    An Asahi spokesman said the company was monitoring
developments but declined to comment on the impact.
    Screenshots of Japan trip cancellations are trending on
social media. Hanatour  039130.KS  said it now receives 500 tour
reservations for Japan a day, from an average 1,100. Very Good
Tour  094850.KQ  said new bookings fell 10% while cancellations
rose 10% week-on-week.
    "If someone did something wrong, they shouldn't be proud of
themselves," said Lee Sang-won, a 29-year-old designer, who
cancelled his Japan trip for a 130,000 won ($110.15) fee.
    Lotte Home Shopping said it stopped airing TV ads for
Japanese tour packages as they expect poor results. 
    JejuAir  089590.KS  and Korean Air  003490.KS  reported a
"slight drop" in bookings for Japan, with the latter blaming the
pulling of the TV ads.
    Japan's Fast Retailing  9983.T  fashion brand Uniqlo, which
sells clothes worth around 140 billion yen - 6.6% of its revenue
- in 186 Korean stores, is also feeling the anger.
    "There is a certain impact on sales," chief financial
officer Takeshi Okazaki, told reporters last week, without
elaborating.
        
    SPIDERMAN CAUGHT IN WEB
    Economists say the tech export curbs could shave 0.4
percentage point off South Korea's gross domestic product this
year. The boycott - if it proves to be more than just a brief
burst of nationalistic fervour - could marginally add to that,
unless consumers spend on something else.
    "We are pleased to see this has turned consumers' favour
towards our pens," said Park Seol, assistant manager at
stationery maker Monami  005360.KS , whose online sales have
risen five-fold since the curbs.
    Shinsung Tongsang  005390.KS  said its 'national liberation
day' limited edition t-shirt by his TOPTEN10 fashion brand sold
twice as fast as last year's version.
    For now, emotions are running high. Marvel fan Jang Bum-jin,
34, said he threw away all his Japanese pens and is not going to
watch the latest Spiderman movie, which is distributed by Sony
Pictures - a U.S.-based company owned by Japan's Sony Corp
 6758.T .
    "I love Spiderman, but I am fighting my desire to watch it,"
he said. 
($1 = 1,180.2000 won)

 (Additional reporting by Hyunjoo Jin, Ju-min Park, Jane Chung,
Heekyong Yang and Daewoung Kim in SEOUL, Kaori Kaneko and
Ritsuko Ando in TOKYO; Editing by Marius Zaharia and Shri
Navaratnam)
 ((joori.roh@thomsonreuters.com; +82 2 3704 5642; Reuters
Messaging: joori.roh.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))