Korea: Arrival duty-free shops unnerving airlines

The planned opening of arrival duty-free shops at Incheon International is making local airlines selling duty-free items on their flights nervous, amid speculation their sales may decline. Friday, 2 arrival duty-free shops will begin operations in Terminal 1 and 4 in Terminal 2, according to the airport. Local airlines are worried as there are scores of overlapping products that will be sold at the arrival duty-free stores and the convenience factor of not having to carry their purchases during travel will appeal to customers. Experts believe the deciding factors for buying at duty-free arrival shops instead of in-flight will come down to marketing and differentiation of the products they are selling. The shops are a part of measures to alleviate the inconvenience of having to travel with duty free goods purchased at the departure area. <br/>