SOUTH KOREA. Lotte Duty Free has opened a Kering Eyewear boutique in Busan – the luxury eyewear house’s first store in the Republic.
Lotte Duty Free described the boutique as Kering Eyewear’s largest in Asia. It offers seven leading brands: Gucci, Cartier, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Montblanc and MCQ. An Alexander McQueen store will be added later this year.
The boutique is located on the eighth floor of Lotte Duty Free’s downtown store in Seomyeon, Busan, South Korea’s second-biggest city.
Digitalisation is to the fore with a large media wall offering a variety of brand advertising videos. Additionally, Lotte Internet Duty Free provides a virtual fitting service for Kering Eyewear products based on AR (augmented reality) technology.
In the future, Lotte Internet Duty Free plans to implement a VR (virtual reality) space for the boutique so that customers can enjoy 360 degree browsing without visiting the store in person.
Lotte Duty Free said that eyewear sales to Korean customers over the past three months increased by about +260% compared to the previous three months as outbound travel for the holiday season increased.
The travel retailer (the world’s number two according to the recently published Moodie Davitt Top Travel Retailers ranking) said that it plans to meet the shopping needs of Korean customers through more eyewear stores. In line with that mission, a Kering Eyewear boutique will open at Lotte Duty Free’s flagship downtown store in Myeong-dong on 11 August.
Head of Lotte Duty Free’s Product Division Lee Seung-guk said, “We will continue to work hard to provide customers with a variety of products and a differentiated shopping experience.”
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