Lotte Department Store unveils ‘Time Villas’ to rival Starfield

A bird’s-eye view of Time Villas Songdo. (Lotte Department Store)

Lotte Department Store announced its ambitious plans to launch a new type of multi-use mall, Time Villas, which blends shopping, leisure, and lifestyle spaces. The announcement came on Wednesday during a press briefing held at Lotte Hotel in Seoul by Chung Joon-ho, head of Lotte Department Store’s business division.

“We are moving beyond the traditional department store and mall era,” Chung said, adding that the boundary between retail formats is disappearing. “Time Villas will be a new type of convergence space, offering visitors a unique experience. When you see it, you’ll immediately notice how different it is from Shinsegae’s Starfield.”

The first Time Villas mall, located in Suwon, officially opened Thursday, following a soft launch in May 2024. With a total floor area of 234,710 square meters, it aims to compete directly with the nearby Starfield Suwon, which spans 330,000 square meters. Time Villas Suwon combines the features of both a department store and shopping mall, offering more luxury brands than Starfield. Even shared tenants, such as Nike, enjoy larger store spaces at Time Villas.

Chung emphasized that Time Villas targets a younger demographic, focusing on customers aged 25 to 35, compared to Starfield’s audience. “We plan to introduce diverse lifestyle brands and experiences to appeal to these customers,” Chung said. “Our goal is to make Time Villas South Korea’s top multi-use shopping destination.”

Lotte aims to open 13 Time Villas locations across the country, including in Songdo, Daegu’s Suseong District, and Seoul’s Sangam area by 2030. The company plans to invest 7 trillion won ($5.06 billion) in the project, projecting 6.6 trillion won in annual revenue and a 51 percent market share by 2030. “Achieving a 51 percent market share means we are aiming to become the leader in the mall sector,” Chung explained, adding that the absence of large-scale mall projects from competitors such as Starfield until 2028 presents Lotte with a prime opportunity.

The design of upcoming Time Villas locations highlights Lotte’s emphasis on architecture and uniqueness. For example, Pritzker Prize-winning architect Richard Meier is overseeing the design of the Songdo mall, which will span 285,249 square meters. In Suseong, Lotte is collaborating with Leonard Design Architects (LDA), the firm behind Westfield London and The Hyundai Seoul, to create a state-of-the-art, 303,474 square-meter space. Chung also revealed plans to work with Norman Foster, known for pioneering high-tech architecture, to transform a bus terminal site in Incheon into another Time Villas location.

Chung noted that the focus on distinctive design is part of Lotte’s strategy to stand out. “Our competitors tend to use a single branding approach across all locations. We have questioned why department store façades need to be so uniform and why malls must adhere to just one design,” he said. “We believe this is the era for buildings with architectural value.”

The new malls will feature both indoor and outdoor elements, with areas designed to feel like urban streets, blending seamlessly within the shopping environment. Chung described the concept as a “street mood” integrated into the core of the mall, creating a more dynamic and open atmosphere.

Lotte’s focus on expanding its mall business reflects a shift in Korea’s retail landscape, following trends seen in Japan. Over the past decade, Japan’s department store sales declined by 15 percent while shopping mall sales grew by 13 percent and now make up around 68 percent of Japan’s 117 billion won retail market.

“Department stores still dominate in Korea, but we expect the share of shopping malls to grow to 30 percent by 2030,” Chung said. He stressed that Lotte Department Store aims to increase the share of its mall business revenue from the current 1 percent to 30 percent by the end of the decade.