Chanel’s holiday pop-up ay Incheon signals an early start to the Christmas season.
Shinsegae Duty Free
Chanel N°5—the bestselling high-end perfume in history, with a product reportedly sold every 30 seconds worldwide—has introduced its Winter Constellation campaign at South Korea’s main air hub, Incheon International. At more than 1,500 square feet, it marks the brand’s largest duty-free pop-up at an Asia-Pacific airport this season.
The holiday mega-podium has opened in partnership with South Korean travel retailer, Shinsegae Duty Free, at Terminal 2 of the airport, which serves the capital Seoul. The store’s arrival signals an early start to the Christmas holiday season and is perhaps also an indicator that the country’s major travel retailers, including Lotte and Shilla, are scrambling to compensate for steep sales declines in the first half of 2025 (more on this below).
The Chanel pop-up will be present for an extended period, running through December 5, and Shinsegae says it is “the first of its kind to debut in Korea.” Last year, Chanel’s global Winter Tale campaign also featured strongly at some airports, the most high-profile being the takeover at Qatar’s Hamad International Airport in partnership with Qatar Duty Free and lasting for three months.
This year, Winter Constellation is designed around the themes of a winter garden, a starlit observatory, and the magic of the sky at night, using a whimsical podium that aims to immerse travelers in the world of Chanel beauty. Shinsegae Duty Free’s cosmetic and perfume general manager, HeeEun Chung, described the podium as an “artistic and sensorial holiday experience for travelers.”
As well as exploring the complete Chanel fragrance portfolio, visitors can also check out makeup and skincare lines. Top of the list of expected bestselling collections are likely to be N°5, Coco Mademoiselle, Chance Eau Splendid, and Bleu de Chanel for men.
Chanel looks to the stars
As a brand that is an expert storyteller, a standout feature of the space is a telescope installation that homes in on the history of Chanel fragrances, bringing them to life through a sensory and artistic lens. In addition, all the interactive touchstones will be present from skincare consultations and makeup zones, to photo spots and QR card printing options.
The interior of Chanel’s Winter Constellation pop-up.
Chanel/Shinsegae Duty Free
For social media fans, an augmented reality photo zone allows passengers to capture vivid images and videos against a backdrop of Chanel’s star-shaped constellations and an oversized N°5 bottle.
Chanel’s decision to go large at Incheon comes in the face of a downturn in the market. According to the Korea Duty Free Shops Association, sales in H1 collapsed by more than 20%. Across the country, revenue hit 6.36 trillion Korean won ($4.44 billion) in the period, down significantly year-over-year from 7.39 trillion won in 2024 and 11.65 trillion won in 2023.
This was despite rising numbers of tourists, suggesting a major change in shopping behavior. Data from the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) show a record 8.83 million foreign arrivals in the first half of 2025, up by almost 15% from the same period last year, and also better than the record set in H1 2019, pre-Covid. The Chinese, who are the main visitors to Korea, have moderated their spending at home and abroad, with luxury and other brands having to adapt.
Chanel can probably bend a little less. It has the benefit of very high recognition and favor among international labels, and in downtown Seoul, the brand anchors Shinsegae’s revamped ‘culture hub’ giving it huge prominence. Kantar’s BrandZ Global Report for 2025 ranks just three luxury brands in the top 100: Louis Vuitton, Hermès, and Chanel.
At Incheon, Chanel is doubling down on its luxury status by offering limited-edition items and its top-end collections of perfumes, such as Les Exclusifs de Chanel whose retail price for a 5x35ml ‘discovery’ box-set is close to $800. Other items are only available at Incheon Airport such as Bleu de Chanel (in an oversized 300ml bottle), N°5 and Coco Mademoiselle Intense refillable purse sprays, and N°5 and Coco Mademoiselle body oils.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinrozario/2025/10/30/chanel-picks-south-korea-for-largest-holiday-pop-up-at-an-asia-pacific-airport/
