"I want to make it stick with consumers that every season there's something fun when you come to Lotte."
Head of Team Jang Hye-bin of the Lotte Department Store Signature Events Team met with ChosunBiz at the "Lotte Town Christmas Market" in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on Dec. 12 and said, "I hope it becomes a place where families, friends and couples come to share experiences and memories." Lotte Department Store has been presenting the Christmas market for three years since 2023. Jang has led the project.
The Christmas market runs through Jan. 4 at the lawn square of World Park at Lotte World Tower in Songpa-gu, Seoul. At 800 pyeong, it is the largest ever. It is composed of a 13-meter giant tree, an artificial snow shower, a two-story carousel and a total of 51 booths. LOTTE Wellfood's "Ghana Chocolate House" and Olive Young's snack brand "Delight Project" are also operating experiential pop-up booths. Advance reservations were held in three rounds. Fast-track tickets sold out within 10 minutes each time.
The biggest change from last year is the spatial layout. Head of Team Jang said, "Last year, we had an alley concept using containers, but this year we organized it as a theme park with a neat, square structure," adding, "The space is used more efficiently, and the flow for visitors to take photos has improved." The idea was to create a structure where visitors naturally walk and linger.
Jang and the events team said they spent the entire year researching overseas cases to plan the Christmas market. Jang said, "We looked at Christmas markets held in Germany, Austria and London; the Moët & Chandon lounge at Japan's Azabudai Hills; and the Winter Village at Bryant Park in New York," but noted, "What's important is to reinterpret them to suit Korean customers." Jang also said, "Every year when the event ends, we review what customers liked and what they found lacking, and this year we adjusted the space and content accordingly."
Most of the products and foods sold at the Lotte Christmas Market are special items available only here. For example, "Ghana Chocolate House" developed 15 new products for the Christmas market, including chocolate fondue and cupcakes, and sells them exclusively at the Lotte Christmas Market. The food and beverage (F&B) brand "Ssaem Ssaem Ssaem" also operates a Western restaurant at Lotte Department Store, but for the Christmas market it developed snack-bar items such as tteokbokki.
The lifestyle select shop "Sisi Hosi" is a brand that has a store in the department store, but it is operating a Christmas gift shop with a different lineup from what it sells in the department store. Reflecting feedback from last year's market that "it would be nice to have more food booths," this year the number of F&B booths was expanded compared with last year. This year there are 26 F&B booths, up 20% from last year. The number of seats inside the dome-shaped indoor space "Big Tent Dining Hall," where visitors can escape the cold, also increased from just over 20 to just over 50.
According to Head of Team Jang, visitors to the Christmas market increased by about 10% from a year earlier, and sales rose by about 30%. Jang said, "We manage density by taking advance reservations, so we're not indiscriminately increasing the number of visitors," adding, "In that context, the increase in sales seems to be proof that visitors like this year's market."
Jang said, "The brand team prepares about four large events a year, including the Christmas market, and each season we want to make it stick with consumers that there's something fun when you come to Lotte," adding, "Lotte is a brand that spans generations and connects with everyone. At the Christmas market, it would be great if families, friends and couples come to share experiences and memories."