Lotte Department Store hosts WDSS summit to bolster physical malls

Lotte Department Store hosts the World Department Store Summit in Seoul, focusing on customer engagement and K-retail trends.

Lotte Department Store in Jung District, central Seoul [LOTTE DEPARTMENT STORE]

Lotte Department Store will hold a global retail summit to discuss strategies for retaining brick-and-mortar customers, the company said in a press release Monday, as its sector adapts to the rise of e-commerce and an increasingly young, online consumer base.

The 16th World Department Store Summit (WDSS), organized by the Intercontinental Group of Department Stores (IGDS), will run Wednesday to Thursday, marking the first time the annual conference has taken place in Korea. The event comes as the three major department store chains, Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai, all experienced a decline in net sales in the first quarter of 2025 while the revenue of online platforms soared. “Hosting the IGDS World Department Store Summit in Korea for the first time signifies that the world has recognized K-Retail,” Lotte Department Store CEO Chung Joon-ho said in the press release. “We will thoroughly prepare for the event so it can act as a place filled with innovation where we can predict 10 years into the future.”

The heads of world-famous department stores, including Britain’s Selfridges and the United States’ Nordstrom, have been invited to the event. Twenty different department store heads and CEOs of renowned brands, such as Moncler, Amorepacific and Rimowa, will give keynotes throughout the day.

The IGDS, the world's largest association of department store operators, includes 44 department stores form 38 countries around the world. Lotte Department Store is the only Korean member of the WDSS; others include China’s Bailian Group and Wangfujing, known for Lianhua Supermarket, Wangfujing Department Store and Bailian shopping centers and malls; Japan’s J. Front Retailing, known for its Daimaru and Matsuzakaya department stores; and Thailand’s Central Department Store.

The WDSS began in London in 2008 as a platform for department stores worldwide to come together and discuss retail-related future strategies and has since taken place in cities including Berlin and New York.

This year’s WDSS, held at the Lotte Hotel Seoul in Jung District, central Seoul, will be themed around “How to Best Captivate Customers.” Korean firms will share their overseas success.

“K-fashion, K-food and K-pop are all Korean-born genres that became global, and we think K-retail is following a similar path,” a Lotte Department Store spokesperson told the Korea JoongAng Daily. Lotte Department Store's Jamsil branch in southern Seoul, which the company says combines “premium and trendy in one store,” surpassed 3 trillion won ($220 million) in revenue last year with a compound annual growth rate of around 10 percent.

The company highlighted Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi in Hanoi as its primary example of exporting its K-Retail formula overseas. The shopping complex, which opened in September 2023, generated 300 billion won by the end of 2024. Lotte Department CEO Chung will detail the story during his “K-Retail, K-Management” session on Thursday.

The first day of the summit will focus on the sustainability of enterprises in a changing environment. Notably, Lee Young-ah, chief strategy officer at Korean beauty retailer Olive Young, will discuss the fashion and beauty retailer's success, which revolves around customer loyalty. Nuna Global President Brad Bickley will talk about the baby product firm's survival strategy in the digital age.

Lotte Department Store CEO Chung Joon-ho [LOTTE DEPARTMENT STORE]

On the second day, Chung will deliver a speech titled “K-retail and K-management.” Fashion brand Hago Haus CEO Hong Jung-woo will touch on the Korean fashion industry and its new partnerships with offline retailers, and restaurant operator GFFG CEO Lee Joon-beum will discuss the “globalization” of Korean dishes.

The summit is divided into seven sessions: “How Well Do You Know Your Customer & Assortment,” “Unlocking your Behind-the-Scene Potential,” “Strengthening Your Brand & Uniqueness,” “Staying on Top in a Digital World,” “New Evolution of The K-Wave,” “Offering Excellent Services & Experiences” and “In this Instant World, Why Customers Should Come Back.”

Chung and André Maeder, president of IGDS and CEO of Selfridges, will deliver a keynote on Wednesday, followed by Citi Research's Korea chief economist Kim Jin-wook, whose talk is titled “Global Economic Resilience amid Trump 2.0 and Tensions.”

Seoul National University consumer science studies lecturer Suh You-hyun will discuss the behavior of future consumers, and The Exchange TRX General Manager Trevor Hill, and Lifestyle International Executive Director Kamshim Lau will both speak on “experiential retail” and the future of retail.

E-commerce software company Mirakl co-founder and co-CEO Adrien Nussenbaum, alongside Lee Young-ah, will discuss how marketplaces and AI are transforming the future of retail in the second session.

Liberty CEO Adil Mehboob-Khan, jeweler Wellendorff CEO Christoph Wellendorff and Tokyo-based flower artist Nicolai Bergmann will speak on increasing brand strength and differentiation.

Moncler Chief Retail Officer Alberto Tripodi, Brown Thomas Arnotts CEO Donald McDonald and Bickley will discuss how to adapt retail to the digital world.

In a session focused on the K-Wave, Chung, alongside Amorepacific Group CEO Kim Seung-hwan, Hong and Lee Joon-beum, will present their cases for Korean businesses abroad.

Nordstrom Stores President Fanya Chandler will explore the company's journey to “making customers feel good and look their best,” while Amazon Web Services Korea's head of enterprise retail and CPG, Seo Su-young, and L'Oréal Korea Luxe Division General Manager Yoo Mi-na will talk about generative AI and consumer trends.

Lastly, Shibuya Parco General Manager Yugo Hiramatsu will cover the “Rebirth of Shibuya Parco,” Rimowa CEO Hugues Bonnet-Masimbert will speak on product and service innovation and Central & Robinson Department Stores CEO Natira Boonsri will discuss reimagining retail flagship stores.

Lotte Mall West Lake Hanoi in Hanoi [LOTTE SHOPPING]

After WDSS ends on Thursday, guests will have an opportunity to tour the Lotte Department Store next to the venue in central Seoul. The department store, adjacent to central Seoul's popular tourism district of Myeong-dong, opened in 1979 as the company’s flagship branch.

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