Hyundai Department Store’s tie-up with Shanghai premium lifestyle mall BFC offers reciprocal VIP perks as Chinese visitor spending in Korea rises.
Bund Finance Center in Shanghai
HYUNDAI DEPARTMENT STORE
Hyundai Department Store partnered with a Chinese shopping mall to tap into China’s growing ranks of young affluent consumers, the Korean retailer said Wednesday.
The department store chain recently signed a partnership agreement with Bund Finance Center (BFC), a premium lifestyle mall near the Bund waterfront promenade in central Shanghai. More than half of BFC’s VIP customers are in their 20s to 40s.
Starting this month, VIP customers of both companies will receive reciprocal benefits. VIP members will be able to use exclusive lounges at BFC, The Hyundai Seoul in western Seoul and Hyundai Department Store’s Trade Center branch in southern Seoul.
The partnership marks Hyundai Department Store’s fifth overseas joint VIP marketing initiative, following similar programs in Thailand, Japan, Singapore and Macau.
Spending by Chinese tourists in Korea has been rising steadily.
Card spending by Chinese visitors to Korea jumped 82.1 percent on year in the first half of this year, according to BC Card data. It marked the largest increase among all nationalities.
BY KANG BO-HYUN [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.