Lotte Mart Accelerates Renewal... Showcases 7 Stores Before Chuseok

12 Stores Completed Renewal Last Year, Average Growth Rate Over 20% Compared to Existing Stores
Zetaflex Jamsil Branch Grows 40% from Jan 1 to Aug 20, Bottle Bunker Performance Tripled
This Year, Renewal Opening Moved Up Before Chuseok... Schedule Advanced by About 3 Months Compared to Last Year
"We Will Open 7 Stores Including Sangdanjeom, Hwamyung Branch, Gimpo Airport Branch Before Chuseok to Attract Customers"
Expanded Grocery Area Focused on Food... Strengthened Non-Food Content Tailored to Commercial Districts

Renewed wine store inside Lotte Mart Gimpo Airport branch.

[Asia Economy Reporter Yuri Kim] Lotte Mart is accelerating its renewal strategy, 'RE NEW ALL,' implemented last year to secure competitiveness.

In 2020, Lotte Mart underwent restructuring by closing 12 stores and declared in 2021 that there would be no further closures. Instead, it launched the 'RE NEW ALL' strategy, a concept to showcase everything anew to secure competitiveness. As a result, a total of 12 stores, including Zeta Flex Jamsil, were newly introduced last year.

From January to August 20 of this year, the 12 stores renewed last year showed an average growth rate of over 20% compared to the same period last year for existing stores. Zeta Flex Jamsil store showed a 40% growth rate, and liquor sales increased more than threefold due to the influence of the first-floor wine & whiskey specialty store 'Bottle Bunker.' The pet specialty shop 'Collioli' recorded an 80% growth rate, and Lobs Plus showed over 30% growth, indicating positive customer responses to specialized MD. The strategy of strengthening the food sector, which can secure competitiveness as an offline store, and introducing specialized stores that attract customer visits has proven successful.

On the 28th, Lotte Mart announced, "Last year, the renewal store openings were concentrated in November and December, but this year, we will open seven new stores about three months earlier than last year, before Chuseok." This decision considers the Chuseok peak season and year-end performance, and it is expected to play a positive role in reflecting second-half results.

The main direction of the 2022 store renewal is expanding the grocery area focused on food and strengthening non-food content tailored to local commercial districts. Accordingly, the food area in the renewed stores is increased, while the non-food area is reduced to enhance freshness and seasonality. In particular, refrigerated and frozen displays are significantly expanded to broaden the assortment of meal kits and home meal replacements (HMR).

Chuncheon store, which completed its renewal on the 18th, introduced a directly managed sashimi corner with a cleanroom-style cooking space where customers can directly observe the process of making fresh sashimi and sushi. Through the premiumization of the meat section, the store also offers 'Marble Nine' products, which are carefully selected only with BMS (Beef Marbling Score) No.9, the highest level awarded based on intramuscular fat, meat color, fat color, and texture among 1++ grade beef.

On the same day, Gimpo Airport store, renewed and reopened, created a cave-style wine and whiskey store of about 331㎡ (approximately 100 pyeong) in the central Gold Zone of the food section to capture wine demand in Seoul's Gangseo area. Gangseo is a region with a high proportion of people in their 30s and 40s compared to the national average, and the proportion of young people is continuously increasing due to the Magok New Town development. Targeting young generations, the store prepared about 2,000 types of wine and whiskey and also offers craft beers from about 10 famous domestic breweries.

Strengthening non-food content tailored to local commercial districts is also underway. Jeju store, renewed and reopened on the 11th, completely revamped its fashion stores on the 3rd and 5th floors. Considering that Jeju Island lacks department stores and outlets and has insufficient spaces for purchasing fashion items, the store attracted department store-level brands and upgraded the interior, operating a total of 36 fashion brands. It also operates the largest wine & liquor specialty store among distribution stores in Jeju, handling about 1,500 products.

Subsequently, on the 25th, Seosan and Yeocheon stores reinforced their grocery sections and reopened, and on September 1, Hwamyung store, which strengthened specialized stores such as Collioli and Lobs Plus, and Sangdang store, which expanded its food section, are scheduled to reopen after renewal.

Joo Daejung, Head of Sales at Lotte Mart, said, "We will create spaces where customers can be satisfied and shop comfortably through strengthening food offerings and specialized MD tailored to local commercial districts."

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