'Final Debate' to Shape Lotte's Future... Will New E-commerce Strategies Emerge?

VCM Meeting Moved Up by Half a Month... Mid-Year Execution Review
New Brand Slogan Announced and ESG Management Proclaimed

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Shin Dong-bin, Chairman of Lotte Group, held the group’s executive meeting half a month earlier than usual. As the distribution industry undergoes drastic changes, such as competitors acquiring eBay Korea, attention is focused on the new strategies that Lotte Group will present.

Executive Meeting Held Half a Month Earlier

On the afternoon of the 1st, Lotte Group held the ‘2021 Second Half Lotte VCM (Value Creation Meeting)’ attended by Chairman Shin Dong-bin, Lotte Holdings CEOs Song Yong-duk and Lee Dong-woo, Business Unit (BU) heads Kang Hee-tae (Distribution BU), Kim Kyo-hyun (Chemicals BU), Lee Young-gu (Food BU), Lee Bong-chul (Hotel & Service BU), as well as representatives and executives from affiliated companies totaling over 130 people.

The VCM, conducted via a non-face-to-face video conference for about 4 hours and 30 minutes, covered ▲ review of first half management performance and key issues ▲ economic outlook and management environment analysis for the second half ▲ business strategies by Food, Distribution, Chemicals, and Hotel & Service BUs. In particular, Chairman Shin instructed the four BU heads to "thoroughly understand and report the current business status," leading to reporting sessions for the entire group’s executive team by each BU. This meeting serves as a checkpoint to review the ‘execution capability’ that Chairman Shin emphasized during the first half VCM.

The distribution industry is paying close attention to the messages Chairman Shin will deliver at the second half VCM. An industry insider said, "Since Lotte Group declared it would take an independent path after withdrawing from the eBay Korea acquisition battle, it is time to present new strategies to compete in the e-commerce market. The outline of this will be drawn at this meeting."

Public Declaration of ESG Management

At this VCM, a separate ‘ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Management Declaration Ceremony’ was held. Lotte plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2040, setting short-term goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through process efficiency improvements, and mid- to long-term goals to reduce carbon emissions and contribute to eco-friendly initiatives by applying innovative technologies and strengthening green businesses, with targets set in 10-year increments.

To strengthen ESG management, Lotte will establish ESG committees under the boards of directors of listed affiliates and reflect ESG management performance in the evaluation of each company’s CEO. Last month, Lotte Holdings newly established an ESG team under the Management Innovation Office to advance group-level ESG strategies.

Lotte also announced a new brand slogan embodying its future value: ‘Renew Today, Benefit Tomorrow.’ This reflects Lotte Group’s commitment to innovation that benefits all for a sustainable future of humanity. It signifies the group’s intention to become a future-oriented company leading change and innovation in a rapidly changing era.

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