Lotte Group Executive Meeting Held Two Weeks Early: "Seeking E-commerce Solutions"

Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group, has moved up the second half executive meeting by half a month. Since he declared that he would withdraw from the eBay Korea acquisition battle and take an independent path centered on Lotte On, attention is focused on what kind of future strategic plans will emerge.

◆ July 1 Second Half VCM

According to industry sources on the 25th, Lotte Group will hold the second half VCM (Value Creation Meeting, formerly the executive meeting) on the 1st of next month, where representatives of the holding company and affiliates will gather. About 90 people will attend, including Chairman Shin, representatives and executives of Lotte Holdings, heads of the four business units (BU) in food, distribution, chemical, and hotel & service, and representatives of affiliates. They are also considering holding face-to-face meetings with key executives. All meetings in the first half of this year and last year were held non-face-to-face. A Lotte Group official said, "The specific meeting format has not been finalized yet," adding, "Considering quarantine guidelines and safety sufficiently, small group video meetings by location are expected to be conducted."

While the first half VCM shared this year’s group goals, growth strategies, and recent issues, the second half VCM will review the first half performance and second half management plans by business, seek innovation strategies and execution plans for each company, and explore ways to create synergy among affiliates. This year, e-commerce strategy is expected to be a key topic. Since Lotte’s distribution division withdrew from the eBay Korea acquisition, its e-commerce business strategy has emerged as the group’s biggest issue.

◆ Will Lotte’s M&A Strategy Emerge?

Industry insiders expect Lotte’s e-commerce strategy to be concretized through this VCM. Earlier on the 18th, Vice Chairman Kang stated via the company intranet regarding the failed eBay Korea acquisition, "We plan to build a platform specialized in grocery, luxury, fashion & beauty, and home appliances categories to pursue differentiation, and if there are opportunities such as mergers and acquisitions (M&A) or equity investments that can secure competitiveness in this process, we will actively participate." He also revealed that as a mid- to long-term vision, they are considering building a complex shopping platform by connecting several competitive category-specific malls. Therefore, it is anticipated that more concrete directions will be presented through this VCM.

Meanwhile, on the 30th, one day before the VCM, external consulting experts will be invited as speakers to give lectures. They are expected to provide insights on the post-COVID-19 era outlook and economic issues. Presentations by Lim Byung-yeon, head of the Lotte Future Strategy Research Institute, are also expected.

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