[K-Wave 3.0]⑩

#Lotte Mall Westlake Hanoi, facing 'West Lake,' the largest lake in Hanoi, Vietnam's capital. The fountain in the plaza in front of the entrance changed its lights and water jets in sync with K-pop rhythms, such as Psy's "Gangnam Style" and Big Bang's "Haru Haru." Young women dressed up for the occasion and parents with children repeatedly pressed their phone cameras' shutters, capturing photos with the fountain and the mall as their backdrop.

Inside, from the white-toned interior to familiar storefronts like the unlimited tteokbokki buffet "Dookki," the Chinese restaurant "Yeonkyung," and the snack shop "Sibwonppang," it feels as if a Korean shopping mall has been transplanted in its entirety.

Local customers visiting Lotte Mall Westlake Hanoi are taking commemorative photos with the fountain in the background. Photo by Kim Heungsun

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Since its opening in September 2023, Westlake Hanoi Mall has entered its fourth year, seamlessly integrating Korean shopping culture into the daily lives of locals and establishing itself as a landmark representing the region.

Westlake Hanoi Mall is just over a 30-minute drive from the airport. However, it is located on the outskirts, somewhat removed from key commercial districts with government offices and heavy foot traffic, making it less advantageous for attracting local customers, who account for 95% of its sales. The mall compensated for this weakness by offering a pleasant shopping environment and differentiated content that is hard to find elsewhere in Vietnam.

Notably, well-known Korean hair salon franchises unfamiliar to Vietnam have entered the market, and about 40% of the 230 brands-including major bookstores, fashion, beauty, and F&B-have been introduced to the local area for the first time. The office building also houses the first overseas branch of H Plus Yangji Hospital, a general hospital from Korea. The hospital offers consultations in 12 departments, including internal medicine, surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology, and provides Korean-style health checkups using CT and MRI equipment.

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As a result, this shopping mall has become a popular spot for Vietnamese locals to spend their leisure time after work. Nam Woo-hyun, Head of Operations Management at Westlake Hanoi, said, "In the early days after opening, the concept of a multi-purpose shopping mall was unfamiliar, so locals would often take off their shoes and wander the corridors, eat packed lunches, or smoke cigarettes-visiting more out of curiosity than to shop. However, after two years, the proportion of visitors who make purchases has increased by about 20% compared to the previous year, as the Korean-style shopping experience has taken root."

Last month, reflecting the work culture in Vietnam where most employees work through Saturday, the number of visitors to Hanoi Mall increased noticeably in the evenings. The Dookki restaurant was already full of customers and was not accepting any more on the waiting list. Kim Junyoung, Head of Overseas Business at Lotte Department Store and CEO of Lotte Mall Westlake (Managing Director), said, "While the price for Dookki in Korea is in the 10,000 won range, here it is around 7,000 to 8,000 won, which is not cheap considering the local income level. However, the popularity of K-food, combined with sauces and ingredients tailored to local tastes, has helped this location alone achieve monthly sales of 160 million won."

The Lotte Mart on the B1 floor also showcases a blend of Korean and Vietnamese food cultures. In addition to local favorites like durian and dragon fruit, Korean-imported fruits such as persimmons and pears are displayed as premium products. The deli (ready-to-eat) section, selling sushi, chicken, tteokbokki, and gimbap, is so popular that lines often form. Housewife Lan said, "Since it's close to home and I can buy good ingredients at reasonable prices at Lotte Mart, I visit Westlake Hanoi Mall once a week."

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Lotte Department Store Hanoi, located in Lotte Center Hanoi about 15 minutes by car from Hanoi Mall, stands out for its cosmetics lineup. It is the only local retail location where all four major global cosmetics brands-Chanel, Christian Dior, Lancome, and Estee Lauder-are present, with a total of 36 beauty brands under one roof. Lee Jaejin, Store Manager of Lotte Department Store Hanoi, said, "On weekends, when customer traffic peaks, we hold makeup events and pop-up stores for beauty brands here. It has gained a reputation locally as the only place where customers can compare and purchase a wide variety of cosmetics, from leading global brands to Korean beauty brands."

Lotte currently operates two department stores and one shopping mall in Vietnam: Westlake Hanoi, Lotte Department Store Hanoi, and Lotte Department Store Ho Chi Minh. In the Vietnamese department store and shopping mall market, Vincom Mall, operated by Vingroup-the largest private company in Vietnam-has the most locations with 90, while Japan's Aeon Group entered the market earlier than Lotte and now operates 12 stores.

In contrast, competitor Vincom Mall is located in prime areas throughout Hanoi, but its facilities are outdated, and the linear layout with a mix of brands gives it the feel of a subway station shopping arcade in Korea. A Lotte representative said, "Vingroup focuses more on real estate leasing and sales than on retail. They do not consider trends such as the mall's unique features or shopping convenience, but instead allocate the best locations to tenants who pay the highest rent."

Lotte Center Hanoi, home to Lotte Department Store Hanoi. Photo by Heungsun Kim

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Since the early 2000s, Lotte has designated Vietnam as a strategic overseas market and has invested significant effort in establishing a local presence. For example, Lotte Department Store managed the Diamond Plaza in Ho Chi Minh City-the first department store in Vietnam-for three years starting in 2008. Through this, the company gained know-how about preferred brands, merchandising, and services, as well as building necessary business networks. In 2014, Lotte established Lotte Center Hanoi, its first overseas mixed-use complex, a 65-story skyscraper featuring a department store, residences, hotel, and observatory. This investment considered Vietnam's high economic growth rate, a solid base of young consumers, and the growth potential of the retail sector.

According to market research firm Euromonitor, the size of Vietnam's retail market grew by more than 30%, from 93.1587 billion dollars (about 137 trillion won) in 2019 to 121.2 billion dollars (about 179 trillion won) in 2024, and is expected to reach about 170 billion dollars (about 251 trillion won) by 2029. In particular, the F&B market is developing rapidly, with its size reaching 688.8 trillion dong (about 39 trillion won) in 2024, up 16.6% from the previous year. Unlike Korea, where online platforms dominate, offline retail still accounts for an overwhelming 89% of the market in Vietnam as of 2024.

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K-pop, dramas, variety shows, and the K-food popularized through these first-generation Hallyu contents remain strong in Vietnam. According to KOTRA, last year Vietnamese people spent an average of 17.8 dollars (about 26,000 won) per month on K-food-related content, a 40.2% increase from the previous year, and the conversion rate of those exposed to K-content who actually tried K-foods such as gimbap, kimchi, tteokbokki, ramen, and samgyeopsal reached 84.3%.

Thanks to this halo effect, Westlake Hanoi Mall has quickly established itself in the local market, with cumulative visitors approaching 30 million by December last year, just over two years after opening, and cumulative sales expected to surpass 1 trillion won by the end of this year. Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dongbin also cited the mall's strengthened status as a local landmark in his New Year's address as one of the group's global achievements. Lotte Department Store Hanoi also saw its sales increase by about 15% year-on-year last year.

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Lotte is considering adding more mixed-use complexes like Westlake Hanoi Mall in major Vietnamese cities by 2030. Kim, the CEO, emphasized, "Vietnam is not a market we chose for short-term profit, but a strategically selected market with a vision of more than 50 years. Our goal is to maintain a dominant position in the market by embracing customers of all ages and blending the cultures of both countries."