VIETNAM. South Korean travel retailer Lotte Duty Free has opened a store at Da Nang International Airport.
The soft opening marks the retailer’s debut in Vietnam, long a key target market for Lotte due to its high number of Chinese visitors.
A Lotte Duty Free spokesman told The Moodie Davitt Report that the partial opening of the store, called Phu Khanh Duty Free, will be followed by a Grand Opening ceremony in due course, with August the likely date.
The spokeseman said that Phu Khanh Duty Free is a 60/40 joint venture between Lotte Duty Free and a Vietnamese company.
“The shop is operating partially for now but after the full opening it will be 1,000sq m,” said the spokesman.
Lotte Duty Free confirmed that it hopes to open additional stores in Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and other cities. “It is not determined yet but we are assessing the feasibility of opening elsewhere in Vietnam,” the spokesman said.
