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02.21 (금)

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Lotte Mart opens first new store in 6 years

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(Lotte Mart)

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Lotte Mart has unveiled its first new store in six years as part of a back-to-expansion strategy. The retailer is shifting its focus away from non-food items and significantly increasing its grocery offerings to strengthen its presence in local markets.

The company announced on Thursday that it opened its Cheonho branch near Cheonho Station in Seoul’s Gangdong District. This marks its first new store since the launch of Lotte Mall Suji in August 2019. The Cheonho store, located in the basement level of the Gangdong Millennial Joongheung S-Class apartment complex, spans 4,538 square meters. Although its sales floor is about half the size of a typical hypermarket, it is composed entirely of directly managed sections, allowing a strong emphasis on food products. Around 80 percent of the store space is dedicated to fresh and ready-to-eat foods. The non-food section is streamlined, focusing on cost-effective private label (PB) products and a selection of popular brands. As online shopping becomes more prevalent, Lotte Mart is prioritizing compact store layouts and efficient shopping flows over the traditional hypermarket model, which relied on large-scale offerings.

One of the key features of the Cheonho store is the “Long Deli Road,” a 27-meter display area at the entrance showcasing Lotte Mart’s ready-to-eat meals. The selection includes 50 percent more deli products than standard locations. The “Yorihada World Buffet” corner offers over 60 dishes from Western, Chinese, and Asian cuisines, priced between 3,000 and 4,000 won ($2.75). In response to the growing health-conscious consumer trends, the store also sells over 30 types of salads and pre-cut fruits. The frozen food section, which takes up 70 percent more space than in regular stores, caters to residents of large apartment complexes who frequently shop for side dishes. Other specialized areas include the “Global Food Zone,” which features a diverse range of international seasonings, and the “Wine & Liquor Zone,” where the selection of wines and whiskey is expanded by more than 10 percent compared to standard stores.

The Cheonho store also operates the “Ultimate Bargain Zone,” where high-demand vegetables are sourced through auctions and sold at discounts of over 20 percent. In the non-food section, the “Oneul Joeun Shop-in-Shop” corner offers private label goods that make up more than 60 percent of the product mix, catering to budget-conscious shoppers.

Gangdong District, where the Cheonho store is located, is emerging as a major battleground for offline retail. Within a two-kilometer radius, approximately 170,000 households reside, and the rapid expansion of large apartment complexes through redevelopment and reconstruction is driving local market growth. Rival chains are also strengthening their presence, with Emart planning to open its Gangil branch in the first half of 2025, following its existing locations in Myeongil and Cheonho. Homeplus’ Gangdong branch will further add to the competition, bringing the total number of hypermarkets in the area to five by the end of the year.

Lotte Mart had been scaling back its store network since 2020 to focus on internal stability, reducing its store count from 125 in 2019 to 110 by the end of 2024. However, with the opening of the Cheonho store, the company is shifting back to expansion.
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