Bliss pulls out of the bakery biz

Jang Sun-yoon, CEO of Bliss and granddaughter of Lotte Chairman-in-Chief Shin Kyuk-ho, became the second chaebol scion to pull out of the bakery business in response to public outcry over the encroachment of big business into economic territory traditionally claimed by mom-and-pop stores.

In a statement released on Friday, Jang’s company said it signed a contract to sell its premium French bakery brand Fauchon to Maeil Dairy and Young Distribution. The details of the deal haven’t been released.

Young Distribution is the Korean distributor of Philip Morris cigarettes and said it acquired the bakery brand because it wanted to enter a new market. Maeil Dairy runs sandwich brand Buccella.

Bliss runs seven Fauchon outlets in Lotte Department Store locations.

By Kim Mi-ju [mijukim@joongang.co.kr]