"Lotte Shopping Establishes Strategic Partnership with Canada's EDC as a 'Base for North American Market Expansion'"

Financial Cooperation Worth 700 Billion Won and Mutual Market Entry Support
Leveraging Lotte’s Distribution Network to Help Canadian Companies Enter Korea

On September 4, Lotte Shopping announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with Export Development Canada (EDC) to support market entry for companies from both countries, based on financial cooperation and network sharing.

On the 3rd, at Lotte World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Kim Sanghyun, Vice Chairman and General Manager of Lotte Distribution Group (left in the photo), and George Monize, General Manager of EDC Asia-Pacific (right in the photo), signed the "Lotte Shopping-EDC Strategic Partnership Agreement" and took a commemorative photo.

On September 3, Lotte Shopping signed the "Lotte Shopping-EDC Strategic Partnership Agreement" at Lotte World Tower in Jamsil, Seoul. The signing ceremony was attended by Kim Sanghyun, Vice Chairman and General Manager of Lotte Distribution Group; Kang Sunghyun, CEO of Lotte Mart and Lotte Super; Kim Wonjae, Head of Financial Support at Lotte Distribution Group HQ; George Monize, General Manager of EDC Asia-Pacific; Joy Lankotte, Head of EDC Korea Representative Office; Philippe Lafortune, Ambassador-designate of the Embassy of Canada in Korea; and Ruslan Katz, Senior Trade Commissioner at the Embassy of Canada in Korea.

EDC is a public export credit agency established in 1944 and wholly funded by the Canadian federal government. It provides export insurance, guarantees, and investments to promote Canadian exports, and also offers financial support for projects related to green strategies and digital transformation.

Through this agreement, Lotte Shopping will receive up to 500 million dollars (approximately 700 billion won) in financial cooperation from EDC over the next three years. The company will be able to secure funding through direct loans from EDC or by connecting with global financial institutions. EDC will support Lotte Shopping's investment activities in Canada through its trade cooperation network with the Canadian government. Lotte Shopping, in turn, will help Canadian companies enter the Korean market by leveraging its domestic online and offline distribution channels and affiliate networks. This is expected to lay the foundation for increased exchanges between companies from both countries.

The agreement also includes provisions for Lotte Mart's private brand (PB) products to enter the North American market. Lotte Mart plans to expand its local sales channels by sharing trends in the North American distribution market and utilizing EDC's network. Currently, Lotte Mart exports its PB products to more than 10 countries.

Lotte Shopping aims to position Canada as a strategic hub for expanding export channels into the North American market. The Canadian food market is favorable for PB product exports due to its low tariff barriers, rapid consumer response, and high preference for small, convenient packaging. According to KOTRA and Statistics Canada, as of 2024, imports of Korean food products into Canada have shown overall growth, with an average annual growth rate of 6.12% projected through 2028.

Kim Sanghyun, Vice Chairman and General Manager of Lotte Distribution Group, said, "Lotte Shopping will expand its influence on the global stage based on EDC's financial cooperation and networking, and widely promote the excellence of K-Food in the North American market. Through this agreement, I hope to create an opportunity for both Korean and Canadian companies to achieve a win-win outcome together."

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