Shinsegae Food to sell imported bottled water in S. Korea

SEOUL, June 16 (Yonhap) -- Shinsegae Food Co., a unit of South Korea's top
retailer Shisegage Co., said Wednesday it will exclusively sell Fiji Water, an
international brand of bottled water from the Fiji Islands, on the domestic
market from this weekend.
Shinsegae Food aims at increasing its share of the local imported bottled water
market to 50 percent within five years, gradually expanding its presence in
coffee shops, hotels and convenience stores, the company said.
The size of the local bottled water market amounted to 500 billion won (US$412
million) last year, with imports reaching 150 billion won.
Evian, a high-priced French brand of bottled water, accounted for 70 percent of
the imported bottled water market in South Korea last year.
Meanwhile, the European brand yielded first place to Fiji Water in the U.S.
bottled water market last year. Fiji Water generated $168.2 million in sales in
the U.S.
Shinsegae Food expected domestic demand for imported bottle water to surge down
the road.
"The imported bottled water market is expected to grow sharply as the number of
high-income families and consumers looking for classy products has been on the
rise," Jung Il-chae, president of Shinsegae Food, said.
jia@yna.co.kr
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