"Difficult times call for a long-term view"... Lotte Duty Free to open Hanoi City Store in December next year

Luxury Shopping Mall with 480 Pyeong Area

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] Lotte Duty Free is preparing to open a downtown duty-free store in Hanoi, Vietnam, in anticipation of the post-COVID-19 era.

On the 22nd, Lotte Duty Free announced on the 23rd that it signed an agreement with Vietnam's IPP Group in Hanoi to operate a downtown duty-free store, marking its entry into overseas new locations. This contract was pursued proactively to prepare for the recovery of travel demand after COVID-19, despite the duty-free industry facing difficulties due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

At the Lotte Duty Free Hanoi downtown store operation contract ceremony held that day, Kim Ui-jung, Commercial Attach? at the Korean Embassy in Vietnam; Park Seok-won, Head of Lotte Duty Free Vietnam Corporation; Nguyen Mai Quang, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee; Jonathan Haing Nguyen, Chairman of Vietnam IPP Group representing the operator of Trang Tien Plaza; and Le Thi Lan Phuong, Head of IPP Group Hanoi Branch, attended.

The Lotte Duty Free Hanoi downtown store will be located on the 6th floor of Trang Tien Plaza, a 1,598㎡ (480 pyeong) space in the heart of Hanoi, and is planned to open in December next year after about one year of preparation. Trang Tien Plaza is the oldest and most historic luxury shopping mall in Hanoi, housing over 110 luxury boutiques and global fashion brands. Located near Hoan Kiem Lake, a beloved tourist spot in Hanoi, it is expected to enhance shopping convenience for travelers from around the world.

The Lotte Duty Free Hanoi downtown store will be presented as a differentiated store where customers can have diverse experiences by combining Vietnamese cultural characteristics with Hallyu content. Rattan and cane materials, which evoke the Vietnamese atmosphere, will be actively used in the interior, and local specialty spaces such as Vietnamese local products and coffee shops will be created. Additionally, a K-pop zone will be established for customers to experience Hallyu culture, and product competitiveness will be strengthened focusing on domestic beauty brands that have gained great popularity overseas, as well as famous international cosmetics and perfume brands.

Park Chang-young, Head of Global Business Division at Lotte Duty Free, said, “We expect overseas travel demand to gradually recover from the second half of next year,” adding, “We will do our best to ensure that Lotte Duty Free can be competitive in the overseas duty-free market in preparation for the post-COVID-19 era.”

Lotte Duty Free first entered the overseas market in 2012 as the first domestic duty-free store to do so and currently operates 12 stores in 6 countries overseas. In Vietnam, it operates Da Nang Airport store starting in 2017, Nha Trang Cam Ranh Airport store, and Hanoi Airport store, and aims to open Da Nang downtown store and the newly contracted Hanoi downtown store in 2021.

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