Shin Dong-bin, chairman of Lotte Group, has successfully executed his strategy in Vietnam. Lotte Department Store announced that its Lotte Mall Westlake Hanoi has surpassed 1 trillion won in cumulative sales within three years of opening, marking the first record for a domestic department store operating abroad.
Lotte Department Store revealed on November 2 that Lotte Mall Westlake Hanoi achieved this milestone in cumulative sales in October, just over three years after its opening in September 2023. The mall exceeded 100 billion won in cumulative sales just 122 days after opening in January 2024, and surpassed 600 billion won last year.
Lotte Mall Westlake Hanoi is a flagship project that Chairman Shin has pursued, positioning Vietnam as a key overseas market. Lotte Group began site development in 2016, investing approximately $643 million (around 850 billion won at the time). During a visit to the mall in April, Shin emphasized that “Vietnam is a core country for the group’s global business,” urging for strengthened competitiveness in food and retail sectors.
During his visit, he was accompanied by his eldest son, Shin Yoo-yeol, head of Lotte Holdings’ Future Growth Division. After inspecting the operations of major affiliates like Lotte Department Store and Lotte Mart, Shin met with senior officials in Hanoi to discuss urban development and investment cooperation. This visit underscores Lotte Group's intention to establish Vietnam as a key hub for complex shopping mall development and new business expansion, beyond merely a market for product sales.
The cumulative number of visitors to Lotte Mall Westlake Hanoi has exceeded 41 million, with an average of over 50,000 visitors daily and annual foreign tourist numbers reaching 1 million. Located in the affluent Tay Ho district of Hanoi, the mall spans 354,000 square meters and features a shopping mall, supermarket, cinema, aquarium, and hotel.
At the time of its opening, Lotte Mall included over 230 stores, with 52 of them being first-time brands in Hanoi. It also integrated VIP services with the adjacent Lotte Department Store in Hanoi. Additionally, the mall hosts over 60 pop-up stores annually to attract local consumers and tourists.
In the second half of this year, Lotte Department Store plans to renovate about 20% of its stores, or over 50 locations. It aims to expand K-fashion brands such as 'Matengkim', 'Huayu', and 'Marie T' as well as global premium brands, while transforming the first-floor atrium into a space for luxury exhibitions and large pop-ups.
In the first half of next year, Lotte will collaborate with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Creative Content Agency to establish a 1,000-pyeong K-culture experience center called 'Korea 360' on the fourth floor. This space will combine sales and experiences related to K-beauty, K-pop, and K-drama, along with fan meetings.
Building on this success, Lotte Department Store is also considering additional openings in Vietnam. With limited growth in the domestic retail market, the company aims to leverage localized complex shopping malls as a growth engine for its overseas business.
Kim Jun-young, head of Lotte Department Store's overseas business division, stated, “The 1 trillion won in cumulative sales achieved by Lotte Mall Westlake Hanoi is a significant milestone for our future overseas operations,” adding that the company plans to continue exploring additional openings in the Vietnamese market based on this success.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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