Lotte Department Store said on the 12th that sales from foreign consumers during the golden holiday period from Oct. 1 to 9 rose 40% from a year earlier. It said the result came after Lotte Department Store began in earnest to "welcome Chinese tourists (youke)" from mid-September.
In particular, the Lotte Department Store main branch, located at the heart of the Myeong-dong commercial district, fully benefited from the "youke effect." Sales to Chinese consumers increased 45% year over year. On the ninth floor of the main branch, at Kinetic Ground, a K-fashion specialty hall, the share of sales to foreign consumers rose to as high as 80% during the golden holiday. Chinese consumers were said to have shown strong interest in Korean designer brands such as "Matinkim (MATINKIM)" and "The Barnnet (The Barnnet)."
Looking at the figures from the Lotte gift certificate giveaway event for foreign consumers during this period, sales to foreign consumers in the luxury category also increased by more than half. Among them, sales to Chinese consumers jumped 90%.
Lotte Town Jamsil, which along with the Seongsu commercial district forms the "eastern belt" of Seoul tourism, also saw foreign sales rise 40%. The most frequent foreign nationalities during the period were, in order, the United States, Singapore and Russia. Due to the won's weakness against the dollar, luxury category purchases by U.S. consumers grew 35% from a year earlier.
Lotte Department Store plans to further enhance benefits and conveniences for foreign tourists going forward. In the case of Lotte Town Myeong-dong, which has the highest tourist visits, it will introduce a new foreigner membership program and improve infrastructure and service benefits, such as creating a lounge exclusively for foreigners, to present a global customer-tailored shopping environment.
Park Sang-woo, head of business strategy at Lotte Department Store, said, "We will additionally carry out customized promotions targeting foreign visitors during the Gyeongju APEC summit at the end of October, and we will continue to actively introduce diverse content so that Lotte Department Store can become a must-visit shopping destination for foreign customers."