April 20, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] The Jeju provincial government announced on Sept. 7 that Kwang Dong Pharmaceutical and Coca-Cola Korea have been given sales rights of the nation’s No. 1 mineral water brand Samdasu for the next four years.

The local government will sign deals with both the firms this month. 

Kwang Dong, the current rights owner that has been distributing the Jeju-based mineral water since December 2012, will renew the contract for sales at smaller retail channels such as supermarkets, convenient stores and online shops. Coca-Cola Korea, an affiliate of LG Household and Health Care, will share the rights to sell the mineral water to businesses such as restaurants and hotels.

Despite the less favorable deal conditions compared to the past, five companies competed fiercely to win the sales rights for Samdasu, an unrivaled market leader with a whopping 41.5 market share.

Kwang Dong earned 183.8 billion won (US$163.27 million) revenue from Samdasu sales last year, which made up 29 percent of its total sales.

By Song Seung-hyun (ssh@heraldcorp.com)