Lotte Shopping sets $12.8 billion sales target for 2026

Lotte Shopping has set the goal of recording 17 trillion won ($12.8 billion) in sales and 1 trillion won in operating profit by 2026.

Kim Sang-hyun, CEO of Lotte Shopping, presents the company's six future strategies during a CEO IR Day event on Tuesday. [LOTTE SHOPPING]

Lotte Shopping has set the goal of recording 17 trillion won ($12.8 billion) in sales and 1 trillion won in operating profit by 2026.

"While we've concentrated on enhancing profitability and efficiency this year, our focus for the coming year is to embrace customer-centric values as the cornerstone of our management philosophy and become the primary shopping destination for customers," said Kim Sang-hyun, CEO of Lotte Shopping, during a CEO IR Day event on Tuesday.

“Guided by our six core strategies, we're committed to putting in our best efforts,” said Kim on achieving an operating profit of 1 trillion won by 2026.

The announcement, along with six mid-to-long-term strategies, came as the competition in the retail industry is heating up with established retail groups like Shinsegae and CJ and digital-focused ones like Coupang and Naver.

To boost the appeal of its brick-and-mortar shopping malls, the retail arm of Lotte Group will execute renovation first slated for eight major branches situated in prime areas, such as the flagship Myeong-dong, Jamsil and Suwon branches.

From the latter part of this year, the company aims to enhance customer experiences by introducing innovative store formats, including specialized grocery stores.

As for its e-commerce operations, the company plans to build six new logistics automation centers by 2030, in collaboration with Britain's online grocery tech platform Ocado. The first center is scheduled to open in Busan in 2025.

Lotte Shopping will streamline its underperforming business units like home shopping and home appliance stores. For example, Lotte Homeshopping will expand its content offerings with its Bellygom character, catering to the preferences of millennials and Gen Z, while streamlining inefficient product categories.

Lotte Shopping's international expansion efforts will primarily be centered around Southeast Asia, where it has been steadily expanding operations for the past 17 years. It currently operates three department stores, 66 marts, and one shopping mall complex in countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia. It is set to open the Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi, a complex combining shopping mall, mart, an aquarium, and a cinema, in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Friday. Additionally, it is developing another complex in Ho Chi Minh Eco Smart City.

Lotte Shopping also presented a range of technology services leveraging its extensive customer data of 42 million people to generate new revenue streams. Initiatives include a unified media platform business offering personalized advertising solutions and AI-driven ad production services.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]