Lotte Shopping reported on the 9th that its first-quarter performance showed sales of 3.4569 trillion won and an operating profit of 148.2 billion won. Sales decreased by 1.6% compared to the same period last year, while operating profit increased by 29%.
Net income was reported at 18.1 billion won, down 75.1% from the same period last year.
Sales in the institutional sector of department stores were 806.3 billion won, a decrease of 1.1% compared to the same period last year. The closure of the Masan branch last year contributed to the sales decline. However, sales at existing domestic stores increased by 1% due to the effects of renovations at key stores such as the main store and Jamsil branch, as well as customer attraction through pop-up store operations.
Operating profit in the institutional sector of department stores recorded 130 billion won, an increase of 44.3% from the same period last year. In particular, the revenue from Lotte Mall Westlake Hanoi, which fully opened in September 2023, increased by 21.9%, and the operating profit returned to profitability for the first time in six quarters, indicating a generally positive performance trend for overseas stores.
The institutional sector of the supermarket recorded sales of 1.4873 trillion won, an increase of 0.3%, while operating profit fell to 28.1 billion won, down 34.8%. The supermarket reported sales of 305.2 billion won and an operating profit of 3.2 billion won, decreasing by 7.2% and 73.3%, respectively.
The Lotte On, the e-commerce (electronic commerce) business sector, saw transactions increase by 12%, but sales decreased by 5% to 28.3 billion won due to a restructuring of product offerings. However, thanks to improvements in net product profit and cost efficiency, operating losses were reduced from 22.4 billion won to 8.6 billion won.
Lotte Home Shopping recorded sales at the level of last year (227.6 billion won) due to focusing on high-margin product operations and efforts to reduce selling and administrative expenses, with operating profit reaching 12.1 billion won, an increase of 22.9%.
In addition, Culture Works, which operates Lotte Cinema, reported that its sales decreased by 24.9% to 86.3 billion won due to a lack of successful films, resulting in an operating loss of 10.4 billion won, marking a return to deficit.
Lotte Shopping plans to focus on improving revenue this year. The department store sector will undergo major renovations at key locations such as the main store and Jamsil branch to establish strong competitiveness in the market. The company also plans to secure optimal sites for the development of complex facilities in overseas markets, which are seen as future growth engines.
The supermarket and grocery sectors aim to leap forward as the country's leading grocery channels by making quality innovations in fresh food a core strategy. At the same time, the company stated that it will expand overseas operations to enhance global competitiveness.
The e-commerce business division will focus on strengthening commerce capabilities centered around fashion and beauty while playing a 'gateway' role in organically connecting the group's online and offline channels. Concurrently, TV home shopping will enhance tailored marketing for its core customer base aged 50 to 60, while expanding content-based new businesses to increase competitiveness.
Kim Won-jae, chief of finance at Lotte Shopping, said, "We will stably expand our overseas business centered on the Southeast Asian market and actively pursue renovations of key domestic stores and new businesses to become customers' primary shopping destination."