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plato's republic
Joined: 07 Dec 2004
Location: Ancient Greece
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 Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:07 am Post subject: Benefits of EU-Korea FTA? |
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| Has anyone noticed any new products in their local supermarket since the EU-Korea FTA was signed? I had a look around my local Emart earlier today but couldn't really see anything new, such as real Italian mozzarella cheese, organic Greek yoghurt etc. Any chance of finding such items in the near future or am I wasting my time? |
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viciousdinosaur
Joined: 30 Apr 2012
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 1:41 am Post subject: |
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| And you are unlikely to see anything more even once the act takes full force. Emart can import anything they want really. Costco does. They just choose not too. They have been bribed well and good by domestic companies to keep their products on the shelf and competitor products off. In many cases Emart owns a stake in the supplier companies. Why would they undercut themselves? They only way will see new products in Korea is if some European grocery stores somehow manages to open a store here without having to sell a large stake to Samsung. |
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r122925
Joined: 02 Jun 2011
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 2:03 am Post subject: Re: Benefits of EU-Korea FTA? |
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| plato's republic wrote: |
| Has anyone noticed any new products in their local supermarket since the EU-Korea FTA was signed? I had a look around my local Emart earlier today but couldn't really see anything new, such as real Italian mozzarella cheese, organic Greek yoghurt etc. Any chance of finding such items in the near future or am I wasting my time? |
I don't know if anyone has read the actual agreement (and I don't blame you, it's well overa thousand pages long), but even though the agreement as been signed and is currently "in force", not all of the duties and restrictions will disappear overnight. Many products are subject to a schedule which will gradually decrease the tarrifs over a certain number of years. And the exact rate and number of years depends on each individual product category.
For one of the products you mentioned, cheese will not be fully free of tarrifs for another 15 years. It is also subject to an anual quota until that time.
Beer will still be subject to tarrifs for the next 8 years.
etc...
This will eventually have an impact on the prices of imported goods, it's just going to take a long time. |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 6:02 pm Post subject: |
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| viciousdinosaur wrote: |
| And you are unlikely to see anything more even once the act takes full force. Emart can import anything they want really. Costco does. They just choose not too. They have been bribed well and good by domestic companies to keep their products on the shelf and competitor products off. In many cases Emart owns a stake in the supplier companies. Why would they undercut themselves? They only way will see new products in Korea is if some European grocery stores somehow manages to open a store here without having to sell a large stake to Samsung. |
Was Tesco actually forced to sell to Homeplus or did they give half to them to make money in Korea? Wal Mart ran away from Korea with it's tail tucked between it's legs. I think it was simply here pre-maturely. Too many ajossis and ajumma with the curly hair and flowery pants to know what Wal Mart was. Nowadays, as more Koreans go abroad and there are more internationally minded people here, Wal Mart might be more successful here if it ever came back.
About foriegn foods, maybe what was said about big Korean companies trying to keep out foriegn products might be true. Some free enterprise principles have never applied here and never made sense to me. For example, if a new product sells really well and sells out, it's gone and you never see it again. In North America, a company would think to itself: "Hmm, that sold well. I'd better order more, so I can make more money." Doesn't happen here. Strange.
But, it would help foriegn companies selling food here trying to break into thje market to get the stores to give out free samples and introduce them to Koreans. They don't. So, sales success is not always what it could be. That said, some things do sell well. Then, just disappear forever. I mean why give out samples every day of mandu, ham, tofu, ect? Everyone already knows what it tastes like. Why not try other things? I think foriegn companies would have to pay the marts to get them to give out their foods as samples too. Cost of breaking into Korea will be higher, but will pay off with more sales. Costco does well with that strategy and many Koreans who have gone abroad do shop there. |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 6:08 pm Post subject: Re: Benefits of EU-Korea FTA? |
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| r122925 wrote: |
| plato's republic wrote: |
| Has anyone noticed any new products in their local supermarket since the EU-Korea FTA was signed? I had a look around my local Emart earlier today but couldn't really see anything new, such as real Italian mozzarella cheese, organic Greek yoghurt etc. Any chance of finding such items in the near future or am I wasting my time? |
I don't know if anyone has read the actual agreement (and I don't blame you, it's well overa thousand pages long), but even though the agreement as been signed and is currently "in force", not all of the duties and restrictions will disappear overnight.
For one of the products you mentioned, cheese will not be fully free of tarrifs for another 15 years. It is also subject to an anual quota until that time.
This will eventually have an impact on the prices of imported goods, it's just going to take a long time. |
Guess it's up to Imshil cheese to get some foreign cheese experts to teach them how to make some really good cheeses. Then, when the tariff is gone, they'll be able to compete with the best of them and maybe even on the global market. (They may even take liberty to experiment with some unique cheeses once they have perfected the art.) Same goes for bread makers, ect. It presents an opportunity to Korean companies and not just for Samsung or Hyundai. |
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Weigookin74
Joined: 26 Oct 2009
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 6:12 pm Post subject: |
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| I'd like to see some bread making companies import some quality oats, grains and wheats to help with making quality bread. They could do so at a cheaper rate. Perhaps, if Wal Mart ever came back, they could use their "muscle" to buy rice directly from farmers and cut the cost for consumers. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 8:15 pm Post subject: Re: Benefits of EU-Korea FTA? |
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| plato's republic wrote: |
| Has anyone noticed any new products in their local supermarket since the EU-Korea FTA was signed? |
Yes, I have. But I also noticed new products before the EU-KOR FTA was signed and I don't think it's being signed has much, if anything, to do with what you can see on supermarket shelves here.
Frankly (and not directing this at the OP in particular), I think a lot of people miss the point of what these FTA's are about. They are NOT signed so as to give consumers in the signatory countries a wider choice. They are signed to give the signatory countries a better chance with their exports in the markets of the other countries involved. Remember that the tv commercials promoting this EU-KOR agreement here showed people in different European capital cities using everyday items that all happened to bear the mark "Made In Korea". It was never presented as a chance to get a wider range of European cheeses in e-mart. Similarly, on the other side, I doubt there was much mention made in the EU of any likely opportunities to buy a wider range of kimchi in their supermarkets because of this trade agreement.
For what it's worth, from the perspective of someone who has both (a) been here quite a long time and (b) lived in other East Asian countries too, I'm relatively impressed with the range of imported stuff that Korean supermarkets try out these days. Whilst I tend to go to Home Plus a lot, for their Tesco products that I'm familiar with in the UK, I find e-mart sometimes tends to be slightly more adventurous with the imported foods they try selling here. |
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Seoulman69
Joined: 14 Dec 2009
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| Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 8:43 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Was Tesco actually forced to sell to Homeplus or did they give half to them to make money in Korea? Wal Mart ran away from Korea with it's tail tucked between it's legs. I think it was simply here pre-maturely. Too many ajossis and ajumma with the curly hair and flowery pants to know what Wal Mart was. Nowadays, as more Koreans go abroad and there are more internationally minded people here, Wal Mart might be more successful here if it ever came back. |
From what I've read Tesco is the majority shareholder of Homeplus. It was a partnership with Samsung originally but Tesco bought the majority and now own in the high 90%s.
Realistically a European food retailer would fail here if they brought over all the products we, as foreigners, want. Tesco and Emart are trying to find a balance of bringing in new products while keeping the more mature clientele happy. |
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viciousdinosaur
Joined: 30 Apr 2012
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 1:12 am Post subject: |
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Walmart is not a person. It does not feel fear. It does not feel any emotion. The decision to open the store here was based on economics, as was the decision to leave. Walmart could not do business here because 1) Walmart's success is based on using their market share to extract large concessions from their suppliers. Not only to Walmart have no power over local suppliers, in many cases they refused to even do business with a foreign company. 2) They probably got slammed with red tape by local officials. This is called "non-tariff barriers to entry". Korea loves that stuff.
3) Their rise to power in the US was based off of selling cheap crap from China, undercutting Mom and Pop shops everywhere. Korea already has that cheap crap in abundance and isn't interested in China's.
Why did Costco succeed?
1) It brought its entire supply line and didn't rely on local suppliers for anything (in the beginning)
2) It's price strategy is based on bulk-buying not cheap Chinese labor.
3) As a wholesaler and not a retailer, it doesn't need a large number of locations, which cuts down on the red tape.
Think, 10 years on and they still only have 9 locations? Why? They hate money? No, because opening a business in Korea for foreign companies is like negotiating the labyrinth. It takes years to open one store. |
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davlad
Joined: 05 May 2005
Location: andong
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 2:03 am Post subject: TESCO is no longer a joint venture! |
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There's been a few replies about HOMEPLUS stating that Samsung had a large stake in the company. It was until recently 94% owned by Tesco WITH 6% given to Samsung.
This is no longer the case. It's 100% British. I think the reason it's so successful is that very few people know that.
To a few of the know it all that commented on this previously: do your homework before you post rubbish as some poor people won't know it's misinformation. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 4:26 pm Post subject: Re: TESCO is no longer a joint venture! |
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| davlad wrote: |
There's been a few replies about HOMEPLUS stating that Samsung had a large stake in the company. It was until recently 94% owned by Tesco WITH 6% given to Samsung.
This is no longer the case. It's 100% British. I think the reason it's so successful is that very few people know that.
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Yes, you're right, many people don't realise Home Plus is a British owned company and I'd agree that this hasn't done their business in Korea any harm at all, although I really don't think that's the only reason for their success.
But it's also worth pointing out that Tesco themselves have tried very hard to NOT have Home Plus come across to people as a British company. Their Korean operation is pretty much entirely Korean run, even at senior management and head office levels. The CEO is Korean too. Indeed, when Samsung's tiny stake in the company ended at the end of February last year, it's noteworthy how the company name changed from Samsung Tesco Ltd. to Homeplus Co. Ltd, with the Tesco bit also dropping out of the name.
It's neither a new nor a particularly Korean phenomenon that major retailers going to other countries with a bit of a colonial kinda attitude sometimes come unstuck, and, personally, I think this is one reason why Walmart failed in Korea but Tesco succeeded. Walmart also entered into the UK hypermarket business a few years ago when they took over Asda. However, it's very easy to be as completely unaware that Asda in Britain is now American owned as many in Korea are that Home Plus is British owned. Almost all Asda stores have kept the same name and the same branding and logos. They did open some new extra large stores as "Asda-Walmart Supercentre" but all of these have now dropped the Walmart part and are called simply "Asda Supercentre".
I wouldn't be surprised if Walmart has learned a bit of a lesson from its and Tesco's differing experiences in Korea. |
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TheUrbanMyth
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Location: Retired
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 4:35 pm Post subject: |
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| viciousdinosaur wrote: |
| . They have been bribed well and good by domestic companies to keep their products on the shelf and competitor products off.. |
You have any proof of this or just speculating? |
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jvalmer
Joined: 06 Jun 2003
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 4:39 pm Post subject: Re: TESCO is no longer a joint venture! |
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| b-class rambler wrote: |
| It's neither a new nor a particularly Korean phenomenon that major retailers going to other countries with a bit of a colonial kinda attitude sometimes come unstuck |
Probably the biggest reason why companies fail in overseas adventures. Also, note that 'Walmart withdrew from Germany too. It isn't because locals (Koreans), are 'unworldy', it's more of a case of the company not adapting to local tastes.
Let's face it, Koreans don't really eat cheese and a Korean company isn't going to bend over backwards to accommodation 50,000 white Americans for cheese, when 47,000,001 Koreans would prefer a wider kimchi selection. |
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viciousdinosaur
Joined: 30 Apr 2012
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| Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2012 5:19 pm Post subject: |
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| TheUrbanMyth wrote: |
| viciousdinosaur wrote: |
| . They have been bribed well and good by domestic companies to keep their products on the shelf and competitor products off.. |
You have any proof of this or just speculating? |
Do you have any proof God exists or are you just speculating? |
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