SOUTH KOREA. Lotte Duty Free plans an urgent re-opening of its Lotte World Tower store, following its successful bid yesterday for one of three new Seoul five-year downtown duty free licences.
As reported globally by The Moodie Davitt Report within minutes of the Korea Customs Service announcement on Saturday, Lotte Duty Free won one of the three licences on offer, along with Shinsegae Duty Free and sector newcomer Hyundai Department Store.
SK Networks (Walkerhill Duty Free) and HDC Shilla (Shilla Ipark duty free) missed out.
“We are going to put our every effort to re-opening the World Tower store and return our employees to their workplaces within this year,” a Lotte Duty Free spokesman told The Moodie Davitt Report today (Sunday).
As reported, Lotte Duty Free World Tower was forced to close on 26 June due to the retailer losing out to sector newcomer Doota Duty Free in the controversial November 2015 bid.
This was despite the fact that Lotte had just invested US$256 million on a widely acclaimed store rejuvenation and that Lotte Duty Free World Tower ranked as Korea’s third-biggest duty free door with sales of KRW611 billion (US$518 million) in 2015. For the period from 1 January to the 26 June closure, it posted revenues of US$293.8 million,
Immediately after Saturday’s result a senior Lotte Duty Free spokesman commented in a press release: “It is very good news for us because the 1,300 employees who had suffered deep anxiety over the past six months… can finally go back to their original workplace.
“Lotte Duty Free will do its best to faithfully fulfil the business plan submitted to the Korea Customs Service in the future. Through aggressive investment and development of Korean Wave [Hallyu] content, we will be able to attract foreign tourists and create jobs, as well as co-exist with small and medium-sized enterprises, thereby fulfilling our social responsibilities and becoming a more mature company that contributes to the local economy and the national economy.”
“Most of all, Lotte Duty Free will do our best to open up the future of tourism in Korea by raising the global competitiveness of the domestic tourism industry through a sense of greater responsibility.”
STATEMENT OF INTENT
In a statement last week on the eve of the Korea Customs Service decision, Lotte Duty Free pledged to focus on three core principles – tourism, culture and ‘win-win’ if it regained its licence.
It promised an additional investment of KW2.3 trillion (US$1.9 billion) over the next five years, attracting an additional 17 million tourists and creating 34,000 jobs directly and indirectly. It also pledged a KW150 billion (US$126 million) Corporate Social Responsibility programme and a comprehensive ‘win-win’ programme with small and medium business enterprises (SMEs).
The spectacular 123-storey Lotte World Tower, designed to be one of the world’s great tourist attractions, will open next April. At 17,334sq m, the completed duty free store will be the country’s largest.
