Pop-ups propel Lotte's Hanoi mall to $145M in sales in under a year

Lotte's shopping complex in Hanoi, Vietnam reached 200 billion won in sales since opening last September on the popularity of pop-up stores and fast fashion brands.

Coach's pop-up store held at the Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi in Vietnam[LOTTE SHOPPING]

Lotte's shopping complex in Hanoi that opened last September generated 200 billion won ($145 million) in sales through June of this year as its trendy pop-up and fashion brands took off among young Vietnamese consumers.

Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi, which opened on Sept. 22, 2023, became the fastest among shopping malls in the country to achieve the 100 billion-won sales mark as it hit the milestone only some four months after opening.

It houses many of Lotte’s retail chains, including its shopping mall, supermarket, hotel, aquarium and cinema, to create a mega-complex 354,000 square meters (3.81 million square feet) in size.

The 30-plus different pop-up stores hosted at the Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi, similar to those held at Lotte Mall stores around Korea, were the main driver of the store's success, according to the company.

The mall has welcomed Chanel Beauty, Dior Beauty, Lego and Coach pop-ups since September, with the Chanel Beauty pop-up held at the end of 2023, in particular, bringing in more than 100,000 visitors.

Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi surpassed 200 billion won ($145 million) in revenue less than a year since opening in Vietnam last September. [LOTTE SHOPPING]

“Pop-up stores that we continue to host at the Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi show its popularity among local shoppers as they have brought 1 million customers [so far], providing them with new things to see and buy,” the store manager of the mall said. The company added that the interactive content of the pop-up stores, such as makeup shows and photo zones, helped attract the interest of local customers.

Samsung Electronic's pop-up will open in August, in line with the company’s new product lineup launch , followed by BMW, Swarovski, Chanel and others set to open this year.

Fast-fashion clothing brands such as Zara, Uniqlo, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear and Mango also help draw in Vietnam’s young demographics, it said.

The shopping complex hopes to attract more local customers in the hot Vietnamese summer by constantly maintaining the indoor temperature at 24 degrees Celsius (74.2 degrees Fahrenheit) along with new events throughout the mall — its Culture Market will invite customers to do-it-yourself and crafting sessions and sell different kinds of accessories alongside a summer sale event across fashion stores.

Lotte is considering opening more shopping complexes similar to its Hanoi store in other cities around South East Asia, according to the JoongAng Ilbo, an affiliate of the Korea JoongAng Daily.

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]