The Crisis in Retail: CES Holds the Answer

Gu Ji-eun, Vice Chairman of Ourhome, Jeon Byung-woo, Executive Director of Samyang, Attend CES
Economic Downturn Deepens Amid Platform Competition...Urgent Need to Discover New Businesses
"CES 2024 No Longer Exclusive to IT...Expanding into Food Tech"

The distribution industry is seeking solutions to escape the recession at CES 2024, the world's largest electronics and IT exhibition held in Las Vegas, USA. Amid fierce survival competition, consumption has slowed due to economic downturn, low birth rates, and aging population, increasing uncertainty more than ever. In response, second and third-generation owners of groups such as Lotte, Hanwha, Samyang, and Ourhome are striving to find new growth engines through artificial intelligence (AI), big data, and other technologies.

According to Ourhome on the 9th, Vice Chairwoman Gu Ji-eun will attend CES 2024 along with Jang Jae-ho, Head of Business Strategy Headquarters, Kim Ki-yong, Head of Global Business Division, and Cha Ki-pal, Head of Technology Experience Innovation Headquarters. Vice Chairwoman Gu is the third daughter of the late Gu Ja-hak, founder of Ourhome, and won the management rights battle against former Vice Chairman Gu Bon-seong, the eldest son and largest shareholder, becoming CEO in 2021.

Gu Ji-eun, Vice Chairman of Ourhome

In a previous New Year's address, Vice Chairwoman Gu stated her goal to become the "Tesla of the food and beverage industry" by devising future growth strategies through cutting-edge technology. At CES, she plans to visit exhibition halls of food tech, AI, and digital healthcare specialists to explore ways to apply new technologies within the food and beverage industry. She will also seek collaboration opportunities with promising domestic and international companies. An Ourhome official said, "She will also participate in related conferences to assess Ourhome's capabilities and understand global technology trends."

Shin Yoo-yeol, eldest son of Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin and Head of Future Growth Office at Lotte Holdings (Executive Director), and Kim Dong-seon, third son of Hanwha Group Chairman Kim Seung-yeon and Head of Strategy Headquarters at Hanwha Galleria (Vice President), will also attend CES.

Shin was promoted to Executive Director last year and moved from Lotte Chemical to Lotte Holdings, where he is responsible for discovering new businesses. Also serving as Head of Global Strategy at Lotte Biologics, he is expected to visit AI, bio, and healthcare exhibition halls to find future growth engines for the group. Kim, who oversees strategy at Hanwha Hotels & Resorts and strategic planning at Hanwha Robotics, has also taken on the role of Head of Overseas Business Division at Hanwha Construction since this year. He is expected to explore innovative technologies such as AI and robotics.

Jeon Byung-woo, Executive Director at Samyang Round Square

Jeon Byung-woo, Executive Director of Samyang Round Square (formerly Samyang Food Group), will also attend CES. He is the eldest son of Kim Jung-soo, Vice Chairman of Samyang Round Square, and the great-grandson of the late founder Jeon Jung-yoon. Having led the group's corporate image (CI) renewal under Samyang Round Square, he is expected to visit exhibition halls related to digital health, food tech, and fitness tech.

This aligns with Executive Director Jeon's interest in science and technology-based food care as a new food source. At the Samyang Round Square vision declaration ceremony held in September last year, he stated, "We will pioneer a new food care paradigm that prevents diseases through food, and furthermore, enable consumers to experience the concept of food care in a familiar way."

The distribution and food industries have recently faced management crises. As the axis of consumption rapidly shifts online, platform competition has become intense, while economic contraction and high prices have led consumers to tighten their wallets. Additionally, the shrinking consumer market due to low birth rates and aging has exacerbated the crisis. Consequently, distribution companies are seeking future growth engines at CES. In fact, at this CES, beauty and distribution companies such as L'Or?al CEO Nicolas Hieronimus will deliver keynote speeches related to AI technology. An industry insider said, "CES used to be the exclusive domain of the IT industry, but now it has expanded to food tech, digital healthcare, and more. As it is a venue densely packed with various cutting-edge technologies, it will be a great opportunity for owners to discover new businesses that will lead the future."

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