VIETNAM. Lotte Duty Free will celebrate the grand opening of its Da Nang International Airport business tomorrow (1 November).
The Korean travel retailer operates two stores at the Vietnamese airport, one of 974sq m, the other 117sq m.
The main Lotte Duty Free store, trading as Phu Khanh Duty Free, had its soft opening in the new terminal in May. The operation is a 60/40% joint venture between Lotte Duty Free and a local partner. The store offers 115 brands, including 14 Korean labels. Lotte Duty Free said it plans to step up its Hallyu (Korean Wave) marketing to boost sales of Korean brands.
The Grand Opening was timed to precede the 24th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Da Nang, which starts on 10 November.
Lotte Duty Free CEO Jang Sun-wook visited the new operation on 26 October to check preparations for opening. He said, “Vietnam is expected to become a bridgehead for us in Southeast Asia as a new market with soaring foreign tourism. We will review expansion into key regions in Vietnam in the future. Our continuing overseas expansion will make Lotte Duty Free a stronger partner for global brands.”
Lotte Duty Free is projecting sales of over KW30 billion (US26.7 million) in the first full year of trading. The retailer is eyeing other Vietnamese travel retail opportunities, including Hanoi, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City, it said.
Vietnam has been among the fastest-growing Southeast Asian tourism markets in recent years, buoyed by surging Chinese arrivals. Vietnam welcomed over 2.2 million Chinese visitors in the first seven months of this year, a +51% increase year-on-year, according to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism. For that period, 7.2 million foreign visitors came to Vietnam, a +28.8% increase. Russian and Korean visitor numbers have also been growing fast.
In 2016, Vietnam welcomed over 10 million foreign visitors (+26%), including 2.7 million Chinese (+51.4%).
The port city of Da Nang is gateway to central Vietnam. Da Nang’s Mike Beach is one of Vietnam’s most famous beaches, while there has been a rapid increase in luxury resorts and hotels on the coast. The cities of Hoi An and Hue are also major attractions.
The number of foreign tourists visiting Da Nang this year is expected to increase by +30% to 2.1 million, said Lotte Duty Free.
In recent years, Lotte Duty Free has been expanding its international business. Since opening its first overseas store at Jakarta Airport, Indonesia in 2012, it has also opened in Ginza, Tokyo (downtown); Kansai Airport; Guam International Airport; Jakarta (downtown) and Bangkok (downtown) in Thailand.
