Yeongdeungpo Lotte Department Store with a Completely New Look Embraces 'Hipjiro and Sharosugil'

Renewed Jeongwan Opening on the 17th
1st-2nd Floors Feature Content Targeting MZ Generation
From Food to Limited-Edition Fashion Items

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Lotte Department Store announced on the 14th that its Yeongdeungpo branch will reopen on the 17th after a year-long full-floor renovation. Targeting the rising consumer group of 20-30-year-olds, the MZ generation (a combination of Millennials and Generation Z), the store has implemented a shopping mall-style layout featuring fashion, food & beverage (F&B), and experiential complex facilities. Borrowing content from trendy street hotspots like ‘Hipjiro’ (a blend of Euljiro and hip), ‘Sharosugil’ (a blend of Seoul National University’s symbol ‘Sha’ and Garosugil), and ‘Songridan-gil’ (a blend of Songpa-gu’s Seokchon Lake and Gyeongridan-gil), the department store breaks away from traditional formulas to actively reflect the perspectives and voices of young customers.

From SNS Famous Restaurants to Tesla Gallery

The core of this renewal is the introduction of content that interests the MZ generation on the 1st and 2nd floors, the face of the department store. A street of popular eateries centered on F&B that appeals to the MZ generation on SNS has been created. This includes ‘Our Bakery,’ known for its traditional European manufacturing methods; ‘Horangi Sikdang,’ a fusion Japanese restaurant introduced for the first time by a distributor; ‘Mimiok,’ a Korean-style rice noodle restaurant; ‘Thanks Pizza,’ which is trending on SNS; and ‘Semi-gye,’ a Michelin Guide-listed chicken restaurant famous in Hannam-dong.

Additionally, to introduce a curated bookstore, a flexible cultural space exhibiting books, furniture, and accessories was created in collaboration with ‘Local Stitch.’ ‘Local Stitch’ is a coworking space planning and design expert that connects local creators and content. For this project, they planned a bookstore with a caf? and lounge concept, curated by various insiders in their respective fields. The first curation theme is ‘Architecture, Real Estate, and Lifestyle,’ featuring a ‘Curated Bookshelf Proposed by 10 Insiders’ theme, displaying and selling books that can inspire the millennial generation.

Tesla, which has recently been attracting attention, will also open a ‘Tesla Gallery’ in line with the Yeongdeungpo branch renewal. Visitors can see all Tesla models currently on sale in one place, including the premium pure electric sedan Model S, the premium pure electric SUV Model X, and the affordable pure electric sedan Model 3. There will also be a raffle event offering test drive tickets for the Model X to visitors of the showroom.

The cosmetics hall, relocated from the 1st to the 3rd floor, prominently features luxury perfumes that are highly popular among the MZ generation. Dior has specialized zones for ‘J’adore’ and ‘Sauvage’ (men’s fragrance) for the first time in Korea, and Chanel has implemented a high-end perfume zone called ‘Les Eaux de Chanel.’ Niche perfume brand ‘Aerin’ is also showcased in a separate zone by Est?e Lauder. Luxury boutique cosmetics such as ‘Gucci Beauty,’ ‘Givenchy Beauty,’ ‘Tiffany Perfume,’ and ‘Burberry Perfume’ have opened, creating a more sophisticated and luxurious store alongside existing cosmetic brands.

Furthermore, in collaboration with ‘Over the Pitch,’ a specialty store selling limited-edition football replicas, the department store targets domestic football fandom. This reflects the rapid growth of the football replica market as a niche following expands alongside European football leagues and domestic football teams. As more celebrities mix and match football uniforms as daily wear, uniforms have become street fashion items for the MZ generation, establishing a subculture alongside limited-edition customizing culture. Visitors can find popular limited-edition old replicas in one place, as well as various domestic and international football-related brands and products.

Strengthening Fashion... ‘Sneaker Tech’ Exchange Included

For fashion content, spaces were designed targeting ‘creators’?editors, designers, chefs?who have the sharpest tastes and standards even among millennials. Collaborating with renowned industry directors, stores never before seen in department stores were created. This project involved directors such as Won Deok-hyun of ‘Slow Steady Club,’ a representative select shop in Seoul Forest; Choi Jong-woo of ‘Saenghwal Gongjakso’; Choi Won-seok of ‘Project Rent’; and Lee Geon-wook of ‘Gongwon,’ who opened flagship stores for their respective brands.

There is also ‘Out of Stock,’ Korea’s first limited-edition sneaker exchange. Here, visitors can find popular sneakers and apparel from various brands that sell out immediately upon release. This is the first attempt in the domestic industry to create an offline store where young people can experience the newly emerging trend of ‘sneaker tech.’

Top seller brands from popular shopping apps like Musinsa, Zigzag, and W Concept have offline shopping spaces. Additionally, eyewear select shops, beauty select shops, and K-POP album stores are included, making the entire 2nd floor a one-stop shopping space for the MZ generation. The flagship brands of the youth culture zoning are ‘Archive Lab’ and ‘Planet B,’ both of which have strong fan bases online. ‘Boutique Y’ is Lotte Department Store’s new designer select shop, where buyers discovered nine young designer brands including Abamoli, Yurago, i.i, and Vital Sign.

Through this renewal, the Yeongdeungpo branch has been transformed into a complex space where young generations can experience new lifestyles through a select shop concept featuring popular products. For a generation for whom directly coming out to see and touch things in their areas of interest is itself an experience, this space materializes the emotions they used to only see through mobile devices into an offline reality. It is an ‘MZ generation playground’ where they can experience a space that feels like SNS brought to life.

Jo Yong-wook, head of Lotte Department Store Yeongdeungpo branch, said, “The renewal of Yeongdeungpo branch will become a space where future customers, the MZ generation, can experience new lifestyles,” adding, “We plan to continuously expand content that 20-30-year-old customers will be interested in through this renewal.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.